Darkness Falls
by LunaCeMore
Summary: The story of how Emma and Regina discover they share true love is a rocky one. Snow White interferes stripping Emma and Henry of their will and Regina is on the run from a town that has turned on her. With few allies, how will the Queen restore her family and what will be the fall out of Snow's magical manipulations? Swanqueen, graphic femslash, brief m/f, pregnancy
1. Chapter 1

******Update 2017: minor grammar fixes and flow changes. Nothing major has been altered story wise!**

Emma Swan had changed much after her adventure in Neverland. "Adventure" Yeah right. Stuck on an island with a band of insidious brats in need of discipline, is more like it. She was not only fighting for her life, but for her son's, her parents, and her Regina, for lack of better term. Much had changed during their time on the Jolly Roger, much more had changed in the jungles of Neverland. Most of which surrounded her views on her son's other mother, Regina Mills.

Emma always knew reality, whether it was a fairy tale reality or real world reality, was never black and white. It was gradient. Unlike the stories that were passed on and written down in Henry's book, she knew there had been more to the story on why people did what they did. Why they _seemed_ good, as well as why they _seemed_ evil.

The picture she had of Regina Mills after Neverland, had suddenly become an endless spectrum of gray. The manipulations the woman had endured from those meant to protect her, lent credence that her Majesty the Mayor was as much a victim of circumstance as Emma herself. She came to the realization, on that wicked little island, that it may have been Regina that cast the curse, but it was her _parents_ who chose to send her away and make her an orphan. That decision shaped her, better or worse, into who she had become. She could no longer fault the Mayor for the things that had gone so terribly wrong in her youth, but came to thank her for casting the curse that gave her their son.

Post Neverland, that is how Henry was described, by both women. Their son. Shared. Between them. Emma had earned that right in Regina's eyes during their stay on the island, and Emma, Emma always considered Henry to be Regina's kid. Even when she was yelling about how he was hers, he never felt hers. She didn't raise him. She fought for him, sure, but every time she would say the words, the little voice in the back of her head would sound off, reminding her of that crucial fact. She had abandoned him. The way her parents had done to her. For reasons, of course, both instances, but the end results were the same. At least he had HER. He had a _mother_. She was loving and amazing and lived and breathed for him. She never hurt him, she loved and nurtured him.

Until Gold manipulated the woman's life once more for his own personal gain and told the boy he was adopted. That seemed to be how Regina's life would be.

Emma didn't pity Regina, the queen wouldn't stand for something so vile. No, she did however have compassion, and understanding for her. Those feelings, once allowed to seed, grew within the savior. Every day on the island, as they fought side by side against the brat brigade, at night when things were quiet, the Mayor would instruct her on harnessing the magic within her. They would talk. She would tell Emma about Henry when he was a boy, when he was her little prince. It helped them both. Now that they were back in Storybrooke, she very quickly realized she missed spending time with the Mayor. Regina was broken, in a way Emma was broken and Emma took comfort in that mutual understanding. A comfort she didn't get from any other person from Storybrooke. Not even Neal.

Neal was alive and wanted to be a part of Henry's life. He had all but demanded it. As if he had any right to. As if she even had the power to grant such a request, even if she wanted to. She knew Henry wanted to know his father, she also knew Henry wanted his father and her to be true love and reunite. It was never going to happen, but isn't that what every child wants? The fact that her own parents seemed to want the same thing put a ridiculous amount of pressure on her. Her mother was relentless in the subtle nudging to Neal's direction.

"I have a right to see him Emma." Neal said.

Emma's eyes bulged, "Seriously? You don't have rights Neal! You gave those rights up when you left me to give birth to him in jail!"

"I didn't know! And you had a destiny—" he started.

"Enough!" she shouted at him. "Even if I thought it was okay, even I don't have actual rights to him Neal! Regina is the only parent here who has a say! I'll talk to her, but damn it, we BOTH need to abide her wishes!" She huffed out of the station where he had confronted her.

Henry was in fact still technically living with her. Her parents had talked her into keeping him with her after the whole Cora debacle. Now, though, it felt wrong. She wanted him, of course, but she knew he was there simply because Regina had allowed it thus far. The Mayor wanted to appease the boy, so she hadn't contested his choice to live with his birth mother. That fact did not escape the blonde. Once Henry had been rescued, and they returned to their rather cramped loft, he had mentioned, offhandedly, that he missed Regina. He missed his _mother_. She had to admit to herself that she was going to do exactly what Regina had done, and allow the boy to move back home. She just needed a way to break it to her parents. Her mother wouldn't understand.

"Emma honey, he is your son!" Snow said sweetly, not even pretending to have heard Emma's argument to the contrary.

"He isn't mom. I gave him life, _she_ raised him. _She_ adopted him. I gave him up. Frankly, he wants to live with her! I'm going to let him." She said with finality.

"Well, maybe he can go stay with her, but once you and Neal get back together, he will have a proper family, he will want to stay with his mother and father!" Snow had already started looking into her daughter's fairy tale wedding arrangements, unbeknownst to the blonde of course.

"Wow. Mom? No. Just. No." Emma knew she shouldn't be shocked at her mother's point of view on the matter, but to hear the delusion in all of its glory practically floored the blonde. Emma picked up her cell phone and left her mother in the kitchen, the pixie haired brunette was still going on about when Emma was going to start giving Neal a second chance as Emma left the apartment.

Out in front of their building, standing on the sidewalk, was the only place she had any privacy at home. It was a little crazy to think that a rather busy public street was more private than her own room, but it indeed was. She turned on her phone and scrolled through her contacts to pull up Regina's number.

"Crazy Hot Mayor" is how she was listed. 'I really need to change that.' Emma thought to herself. She had labeled the contact when she first met Regina Mills over a year and a half ago. Nothing had changed really, she was still a Mayor, and she was still Crazy Hot too. Emma snickered as she brought the phone to her ear. "Hey Regina, it's Emma."

"Yes Miss Swan, I have caller ID. What can I do for you?" Regina's voice seemed strained, the contempt she was exuding seemed forced. "Are you busy?" Emma was hoping to get all of the living arrangements, Neils "request" and a possible custody agreement out of the way that evening. If she was being honest with herself, she wanted to see the brunette too. Like Henry, she missed the woman.

 _'That is twice you've thought that Swan.'_ Her brain reminded her.

"No, why?" came the curt answer.

"Can I come over? We need to talk." Emma was pacing in front of her building.

"Right now? What could we possibly have to discuss Miss Swan?" It had been several weeks since they had been home from Neverland and Emma was painfully aware of Regina's absence in her daily routine. It was as if they just picked up where they left off and went their separate ways. It wasn't how Emma wanted it to be. Really, that was the heart of this phone call. Change.

"Are we really going back to formalities Regina? We need to talk about Henry." Emma sighed loudly, expressing her dissatisfaction on the brunette's insistence on rebuilding the walls she had pre-island get-away.

"Is he okay?" Regina's voice suddenly lost all of her previous venom, forced or otherwise, and worry flooded her question.

"Yes, can I come over?" Emma did not want to talk about what they needed to discuss over the phone and she was hoping Regina would catch a clue sooner rather than later.

"Yes, you _may_. When shall I expect you?" the brunette answered curtly.

"I'll be there in 5." After gaining the permission, she disconnected the call and headed back into her parents home.

"Mom, keep an eye on Henry, I need to go out."

Snow stopped her supper preparations and a lost puppy dog look crossed her eyes, as if she were suddenly Anime. "What about dinner?" she asked with a pout.

"I'll either catch something at Granny's or grab something when I get in, either way, I promise I won't starve. Just make sure the kid gets to bed at a decent hour please?" Emma said as she bounded up the stairs to the room she shared with the kid in question.

"Henry?" she poked her head in the room they shared. The bathroom door was closed so she assumed he was in there and knocked. "Kid?"

"I'll be right out!" he said almost panicked.

"I'm not coming in, I'm going out. Dinner, homework and an hour of TV. School in the morning. I'll be back a little later." she called through the wooden door.

The door opened to her smiling son, "Are you going to go see my dad?"

"Henry, no. Listen, kid, Neal and I are not going to happen buddy." She tried once again to get through to him about reality. "I loved him a LONG time ago, and he broke my trust. As it is, I don't trust easily and once you break it, it doesn't come back." She said softly with a smile that could be construed as a grimace.

"But he has changed mom. You have to give him another chance." Henry pleaded. "He loves you. He loves you now. It's true love."

"Okay, listen. I know you want this, I get it, but the best thing I can do is try and be friendly with him so _you_ can have a relationship with him, because that is what matters here." He considered her words then rebutted, "Your happiness matters mom. You deserve a happy ending. You're the Savior, product of true love, you deserve to be with your true love!"

"Henry, Neal isn't my true love."

"Grandma says he is."

"She is delusional." She snarked then recovered back to a serious tone, "Listen, I can't do this right now. Just, be good and listen to Mary Margaret and David while I'm gone. Bed by 10:30, okay?"

"Okay mom." He hugged her. "Can we go see Regina after school tomorrow?" he asked into her shoulder. She pulled him back and looked him in the eye, anger evident in her tone. "She is your mother, _not_ Regina. I don't want to hear you disrespect her like that ever again, do you understand me?"

"Grandma said—"

"Henry Daniel Mills!" Emma's voice was seething. It was the end of the conversation. He had been allowed to get away with far too much, all of which ended today. "Do you understand what I've said to you?"

Unused to hearing his birth mother act like his adoptive mother, he nodded his head silently.

"Yes we can go see your mother tomorrow." She said in her normal light tone. "And I'll be having a conversation with grandma about what is and what isn't okay." He pulled away from her and flopped down on their bed.

Regina opened her front door to her adopted sons birth mother. "It has been much longer than 5 minutes Miss Swan." Regina poised herself in the right light, gaining the upper hand for the remainder of their conversation. "What was so important that it couldn't wait?"

"You are Henry's mom." The blonde brushed past the mayor and started the conversation off giving the Queen the leg up she desired.

"I am aware." Regina turned and closed the door. "Do make yourself at home Miss—"

"Emma." Emma cut her off. "I swear you call me Miss Swan again—"

"You'll what?" Regina snapped defensively.

"I'll… I'll remind you yet _again_ , my name is Emma. Yours is Regina. You are not the Evil Queen, I am not the Savior, we are mothers of a boy. That is it. Now can we just talk _please_ without this—" she waved her hands between them, "crap we do?"

Regina stared at her, no doubt looking for the angle she couldn't quite see, then relented and guided the blonde into her office. It was where she felt most in control, even if she wasn't. Power was Regina's security blanket and the illusion of power was sometimes just as good.

Emma sat down on the couch instead of sitting in front of Regina's desk. She didn't want this to feel like a meeting, she wanted to talk to her like they did in Neverland. Like a woman. Not like a foe.

"Look, Regina, I…" she took a deep breath, "I've made mistakes. In how I've approached you, how I've handled Henry. I want to stop making mistakes with us." She flicked her finger between herself and the brunette. This got a raise of an eyebrow, but the Mayor said nothing. "Henry is _our_ kid. Yours _and_ mine, but _you_ raised him. I'd like to ask your permission if we could, from here on out, _share_ him. Between us. You and I. _Together_." Feeling the need to stress the clarity of what she wanted in regards to their son because of the dumbfounded look the Mayor was giving her.

Regina stood and walked over to the bar. "Would you like some cider, Miss…" she stopped and looked at the blonde, and corrected herself. "Emma?"

"That would be awesome, Regina." Emma smiled brightly with a victorious smile.

Regina returned to her spot on the couch next to the blonde, handing Emma her glass. "What exactly are you proposing?"

Emma worried the inside of her lip, "Eventually I will be moving out of my parents loft, but until I do, I think Henry should live here full time. I'll take him weekends, and maybe have the option to come by here whenever I want to see him during the week?" She formed it as a question, but only really to gauge Regina's response. The look on the brunette's face was priceless. The hope that her son would finally be coming home was brimming behind her onyx eyes. "I don't want to impose on your routine, Regina, at all. I just want the option to hang out with him when I want. As long as it doesn't interfere with his schoolwork or chores you have for him."

"Chores?" Regina looked perplexed.

"Yeah or whatever it is you did to make him so responsible and awesome." The blonde casually tossed the praise out there.

Regina pulled her eyebrows in tight as she looked at Emma, her old habit of obvious mistrust painted almost neon across her face. She took a sip of her cider then asked the question, "What's the catch?" she obviously had run through every scenario and couldn't come up with why the blonde was acting this way.

"The catch? The catch is, when I do move out, we share him equally between us. He will have his own room at my place and his own room at yours and like Sunday to Wednesday he stays with you and Wednesday night to Sunday morning he stays with me, or every other week or whatever you think is fair. I don't care. I just want us to discuss parenting decisions between us, and I want to have an active role in your lives."

Regina stood once again and began to slowly pace, tapping her index finger against the fine crystal of the glass she held, considering the proposition.

" _Our_ son." She finally stopped and said aloud.

"Yeah." Emma looked up at her, a little half smile crossed her face carving a dimple deep into her cheek.

"When can he come home?" Regina folded her forearms across her midsection and held a baited breath.

"He wants to see you tomorrow, after school. I suppose that is as good a time as any." Emma wasn't expecting the tear of loss that traitorously broke free from behind her eyelashes. Regina immediately sat down close to her and reached out to cover Emma's fidgety hand. "Why are you doing this Emma? Are you leaving or something?"

Emma sniffled back her emotion and shook her head no, unable to give voice to her answer.

"Then, what is it?" Regina sounded honestly concerned at the odd turn of events.

"I'm done making mistakes with him. With _you_." Emma looked away from the gaze of the Mayor, yet still held onto the woman's offered hand. "We changed, haven't we? I mean, since Neverland?"

"It seems as though we have, Emma. Yes." The brunette agreed. "So our son is moving home tomorrow. You can come and see him whenever you want, and take him on weekends, to your parents loft, until you get your own place then we will revisit a living arrangement schedule that suits us both, and meets Henry's needs." Regina summed up their conversation tightly and let out an exasperated sigh. She held up her crystal glass with a smile to toast the blonde on their new arrangement.

"There is one other thing." Emma started and almost regretted not leading with the bad news as Regina's face dropped. "Neal. He wants to see Henry. And I know Henry wants to see Neal. I told him it was up to you. It is a decision we, you and I, can discuss as part of our newly found co-parent status." Anger shone in Regina's dark eyes immediately.

"I know! I don't like it either!" Emma added quickly to appease the woman, and also speak the truth. The idea of Neal anywhere near their son made Emma's stomach flip.

"What do you mean you don't like it either?" Regina spat accusingly. "I thought you two were… you know…" she fluttered her hand in the air searching for the word she was looking for, then settled it back on top of the blonde's "happily ever after!" she said with distaste.

"God Regina! No!" Emma downed the last swallow of her cider and put the crystal glass on the table in front of them. "No no no no no, no!" she shook her head vehemently, "And no again."

Regina looked inquisitively at her, "Does your mother know this? I'm fairly certain I've heard her planning your nuptials down at Granny's with Miss Lucas."

Emma sat back on the couch, defeated and sighed. "Yeah well, Snow White is delusional." She felt bad for referring to her mother as that for the second time that evening, but it was accurate.

This got a smirk from the Queen, "Indeed." She drawled a little too coolly, which made Emma laugh.

Emma sighed once more, "She has Henry thinking he and I are getting back together too, and it doesn't matter how plainly I say to him that it isn't going to happen, he looks at me with those big hazel eyes full of hope."

"He is the truest believer." The Mayor relented. "So am I to presume you are with Hook then?" Regina asked a little too casually. The question shocked Emma into sitting straight up on the couch once more, "Hell no! Wait, how did you know about Killian?" Emma demanded.

"Your mother has never been known to keep a secret dear." The brunette drawled.

Emma rolled her eyes, "So is that my only two options? My baby daddy, who put me in jail or a one handed pirate?" she said as she threw her hand up in the air slapping it loudly against her thigh as it crashed back down.

"Wait, Mr. Cassidy put you in jail?" Regina asked, honestly shocked.

"He said Pinocchio came to him and told him to break up with me, you know for destiny or whatever, but yeah, he arranged it so I ended up doing time for a crime he committed." Emma rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. "He broke my heart, made me feel like I couldn't keep Henry. It was awful. I was honestly broken for a long long time after that." She admitted solemnly.

"Oh Emma, I didn't know. I just assumed you did something _stupid_ to end up in prison." She said flippantly.

"I did. I trusted someone I thought I loved because I was 18 and wanted to belong so badly I could taste it." She replied quietly. Emma bit the inside of her cheek trying to control her emotions.

"Does your mother know any of this? I mean about his role in your unfortunate incarceration?" Regina asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I told her all about it." The blonde nodded.

"Wow." Regina said shooting both of her eyebrows up in shock.

"I know, she just wants the princess she thought I'd be, I guess. Full of true love and weddings and babies and stuff." Emma fidgeted uncomfortably. Things were getting too real for the blonde Regina recognized, decided to back off topic.

"So, what shall we do about Mr. Cassidy and our son?" Regina threw Emma a line to tow her back to somewhere more agreeable.

"I don't want him to have a say in what we do as parents." Emma enunciated the 'we' and punctuated it by gesturing between them. "As far as I am concerned, he is at best a sperm donor. He isn't even on the kid's birth certificate."

"Henry wants to know him though." Regina said it as a statement, but it was a question. One she knew the answer to.

"Yeah." Emma brought her thumb to her forehead rubbing the side near her temple.

"Do you trust him?" Regina asked.

"Do I think he would hurt Henry? Physically? No. Do I think he will panic at some point and run for the hills as soon as things get a little too grown up? Yeah. Do I trust him? No. The guy is flighty. He spent his childhood running away from his problems, that habit followed him to his adulthood." Emma ranted.

"Do you think Mr. Cassidy will try and _take_ Henry?" Regina plainly stated the question she was most worried about.

"Honestly? I don't know. I want to say no, because he helped us on that damn island, and I know he wants to know the kid, but anything is possible, I guess." Emma sorted through her feelings out loud instead of mulling it around within her own head. "Then again, I think Snow and Henry aren't the only ones who think Neal and I have a chance." She sighed at her own situation.

Regina's thumb started to rub the back of Emma's hand, just then she realized the woman was still holding her. Suddenly Emma's stomach fluttered like it was abuzz with butterflies and a light blush crept up her cheeks.

"Well I think supervised visitation, as long as Henry desires it, can be arranged. I trust you will be capable of chaperoning our son and his," she swallowed in disgust, "father."

Emma flashed a toothy faux innocent smile, "I was hoping we _both_ could, chaperone." she replied through a gritted tooth smile.

"Fine, I will chaperone _their_ chaperone, this way neither of us will be subjected to that insufferable man solo. A unified front. _We_ are Henry's parents." She lifted her chin reminiscent of the queen she once was, patted Emma's hand and stood to refresh her tumbler. "May I get you another dear?"

"Please!" the blonde nodded enthusiastically. Her hand still tingled where the brunette had been holding her and the flood of warmth was cascading through her body.

Emma took the offered glass back from Regina and took another gulp. "Damn this is good." She smiled as she began to repeat the moniker, "Best cider I've ever tasted." She giggled despite herself.

Regina lifted her glass before she took another sip, "It is, indeed, that."

"So why did you ask me about Hook?" Emma was feeling a bit more comfortable with the brunette, much more like they were aboard the Jolly Roger, on their way home from Neverland.

The Mayor seemed off put for just a second before she found her diplomatic footing once more. "He has certainly been vocal about his intentions with you, and his little declaration of your kiss on the island, well, one just put two and two together I suppose." Regina tried a little too hard to be nonchalant about it so Emma pushed further, "I mean, why do you _care_?"

"I don't!" Regina huffed. "I mean, I think I have a right to be informed of the people you chose to bring into our sons life. As I most certainly would discuss with you, if ever the situation were to present itself." She swallowed the last of her cider then stared at the bottom of the crystal almost wishing for there to be more.

Emma nodded her head knowingly, clamping down on the wicked smile threatening to cross her lips and simply replied, "Of course. That seems fair."

"This co-parenting thing is going to be," Regina searched her hazy brain for the word and settled on, "Interesting."

Emma finished off her second glass of what should be called, the _strongest_ cider she's ever tasted, and laid some honesty down on the brunette. "You have so much experience, I just am happy you're letting me be involved. I know you don't have to," she puts her hand on the brunette's knee, "It means so much to me you're willing to do this together, like a family."

The look in Regina's eyes was unreadable to the blonde, she withdrew her hand thinking it was unwanted, a step too far perhaps. A bit too friendly. She put her glass down and tried to stand.

Failing miserably and landing back on the couch. "How the shit? I think I'm drunk! I've had two glasses for shit's sake!" the blonde was angry at her own light weightiness. Regina burst out laughing at the blonde's anger with herself. "You may want to sleep it off in our guest room dear." Regina slipped her heels off and stood. She herself was wobbly at best, and knew the heels would make her stumble for certain and she wouldn't look weak in front of the blonde at any cost. She held out her hand for Emma to help her up. "Seriously what proof is that shit? It tastes like candy, but goddamn it's got punch!"

Regina put Emma's arm over her shoulder to steady the blonde on her feet. They made their way through the foyer and up the stairs, laughing at each others drunken selves along the way. Regina deposited the blonde on the spare room's bed and fell into her as Emma hadn't let her go as she fell back. Both of the women laughing hard at their stupid drunken antics. "I'll get you something to sleep in dear." She lifted herself off the blonde, and the bed, and returned to her own bedroom. She pulled out a pair of silk pajamas from her wardrobe and went back into the guest room. Emma was trying to get her boots off, after trying and failing to take her pants off.

Regina dropped the clothes on the edge of the bed and asked the woman if she was capable of dressing herself. "Yesssss." Was the exaggerated answer. "It appears as though the UN dressing is the part I'm having a problem with Madam Mayor."

"Sit up Savior." Regina commanded.

The blonde complied. Regina got down on her knees and pulled Emma's skinny jeans up just enough so she could remove her boots, then pulled the pants off as well. "There." She said proudly. The blonde blushed bright red unexpectedly and Regina took that to mean perhaps she was suddenly embarrassed. She couldn't imagine why, the blonde had answered her door in nothing but her underwear. This wasn't anything the Mayor hadn't already seen, twice. So she stood and went towards the door. "If you need anything dear, I'm just down the hall."

Emma nodded, but looked distant. "Hey Regina?" she called out as the brunette made her way through the door. Regina stopped and popped her head back in, with wide bright smile, "Yes dear?"

"Thanks."

"Sleep well Savior." Regina said without a drop of sarcasm and headed out into the hall towards her own bedroom. She got changed and removed her makeup and made herself ready for sleep. She climbed into her large bed and settled down. She knew she shouldn't have offered the blonde a second glass, nor had she had the second herself, but they were discussing difficult topics and Emma wasn't wrong, her cider went down real nice, warming her in places that have been stone cold for so long.

Wait, was that the cider or the Savior?

Matters not. As she lay in her bed, her excitement of what they discussed washed over her. _Henry was coming home, tomorrow!_ Perhaps not as important, or maybe just as equally, she was feeling content that her son's mother was just down the hall. She hadn't realized it since they've been back from Neverland, but she thinks… she thinks she missed Emma. Just the mere proximity of the woman. Such a curious thing that. Just as she had done aboard the Jolly Roger, Regina slipped off to sleep, secure in the fact the Savior was close and she was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

When the blonde awoke, she was instantly blinded by the unrelenting sun beaming down on her. Her head ached and her body felt like she had suddenly gained 100 lbs. Maybe she had been transported to a realm where gravity was much stronger, she thought to herself. She rolled over and realized she was not in her own bed. Suddenly the previous night's antics crashed back on her. Much had been sorted between herself and Regina Mills, in regards to their son. However, the sight of Regina on her knees before her in that very room stirred up a whole batch of new complicated emotions for the blonde.

'Yeah we are not thinking about THAT until, well, probably _never_.' She thought to herself.

She was wearing a silk top and her green boy short panties from yesterday. 'This was Regina's pajama top.' She thought. A flush of heat settled low in her abdomen at the thought the brunette had worn this very top at some point in the recent past. The peaks of her nipples strained against the silkiness of the fabric as she imagined the dark woman in the very shirt she now wore.

She looked around the room to see where the bottoms had run off to, but with no luck, they couldn't be seen in the immediate area so she pulled an afghan over her shoulders. Covering her mostly naked self from the "cold" that was apparent and making itself known prominently through the sheer fabric of her clothing.

She stepped out into the hall. The manor was silent and still, and a bit eerie to Emma if she was being honest. The place was sterile and cold feeling. She shuddered at the thought of Regina being here, alone, for so long. She passed by the brunette's bedroom, the door was closed. She thought for a second to knock but thought better of it and continued down stairs. "Coffee first. Sleeping Queens second." She whispered to herself as she descended the staircase.

She entered the kitchen where a covered plate sat on the granite counter of kitchen island, the cover reminded her of the 'big reveal' of a fancy restaurant. 'Who even has those in their home?'

"Regina Mills. Of course." She snickered to herself.

She picked up the note that lay atop the cover. It of course was not just a simple lined paper note folded, no; it was an envelope with her name written across in perfect script. She opened it and pulled out the tri-fold stationery the queen had written her. A key dropped into her hand as she unfolded the parchment. She ran her fingers over the beautiful penmanship the Mayor had before reading the words.

 _Dear Emma,_

 _I trust you slept well, you were snoring quite loudly when I awoke this morning._

 _Enjoy your breakfast dear, I do hope you like banana pancakes, it is one of our son's favorites. I'm certain you are used to sugary cereal or whatever horrors your mother passes off as nutrition, but this will make you feel better. I know you didn't drink much, but as you say, my cider packs a punch._

 _Take this key to the manor, so you may drop by as you see fit. I trust you can lock up after yourself once your meal is complete?_

 _I look forward to seeing you this afternoon._

 _~Regina Mills_

Emma smiled as she could hear the teasing tone the Queen so often used. She lifted the plate cover to reveal a thick stack of steaming banana pancakes. She drenched them in syrup and butter and dug in. They were, in a word, fantastic.

She hummed her delight as she thought to herself, 'I could get used to this.'

Once she finished her breakfast, she tidied up the kitchen, cleaning the dishes she used and put them away. She then showered and got dressed. She finally found the silk bottoms to what ended up being her night shirt, under the bed, along with her boots. She folded up Regina's note and slipped into her back pocket, then took the pajamas and headed out of the room. She slipped the key Regina had given her on to her key chain as she walked to the brunette's bedroom. She opened the door, slowly, and stepped inside. She felt like she was breaking and entering. She practically tip toed to the edge of the bed and laid the pajamas neatly down. Smoothing them out with her palm, more to just remember the feel of them than to remove any creases from the material. She looked around and realized she probably shouldn't have come into the mayor's private place and quickly turned to leave, closing the door quietly behind her.

She left the mansion, locking the place up as Regina had requested and drove back to her parent's loft. She had the day off, which was good because she could spend the day packing up her son's things. She trudged up to her room and changed into something more comfortable then started packing up Henry's belongings. She had decided that she would keep some of his clothes with her in the loft, but the rest of his stuff she packed up for him and loaded it into her bug.

By the time she was done it was nearly 2:30 and she was standing in the middle of her bedroom looking around the nearly empty room. It dawned on her at that point that she had nothing in the way of decorations for her bedroom. Everything had either been Henry's or belonged to her mother. The furniture, was all pre-curse Mary Margaret, the little blue bird nick knacks that adorned the top of the dresser and even the scenic painting that hung above her bed. Everything Emma owned was in five small boxes neatly stacked in her closet. She had never really taken the time to 'unpack' when she moved to Storybrooke and the realization of that struck the blonde in an odd way. She knew she was staying, she had everything she ever wanted. Her parents, a family, her son, a home. Was it really a home though? _No. It was a room. A room in the home of her parents._ She remembered the look of worry across the mayor's face the previous night at the prospect of her leaving. That had been Regina's first conclusion. She was giving up on Henry and running away. That thought weighed heavily on the blonde.

Her mother's voice downstairs snapped her out of her introspective thought. "Henry! Honey don't leave your bag on the stairs!" the pixie haired woman sing songed after the boy. Emma exited her room and almost ran into her son. "Mom!" he exclaimed as he hugged her. "Where were you? Grandma is _pissed_."

She raised her eyebrow as she scolded him, "Henry, language." He looked behind her and noticed the room they shared was devoid of his personal effects. "I slept over at the mansion last night, I drank your mother's cider and couldn't drive." She explained. He nodded in understanding, "Where is my stuff?" he looked worried with a touch of fear. "I went to Regina's last night to talk to her about you moving back home." She wrapped her arm around her son and guided him into the room, giving them a little privacy. "When I get a place of my own, you are going to stay with both of us." He was silent for a moment as he considered what was happening. "Like joint custody?" he asked smartly.

"Exactly." She smiled at his brilliance. "But until then, you'll stay at the manor with her during the week, and you'll visit on the weekend here with me, Snow and David." She let this new situation settle for a few moments before she spoke again. "Regina gave me a key to the house, I can come any time I want to visit she said." His face lit up. "Really?" she laughed and nodded. "Is this okay? I wanted to talk to her about it, to make sure we had an understanding before mentioning it to you."

"Is this because of what happened with Pan?" he asked poignantly.

"Partially." She admitted. "I think I realized Regina wasn't the enemy, in Neverland. She is trying to change."

He nodded at that and added, "She is trying to be a hero."

"When I first came here, I approached her the wrong way. I made mistakes in regards to your mom. On the island, I learned a few things and I intend on being better."

"So, you like her?" he asked directly. "Of course I like her." She said, a little more than taken aback at the question he fired at her.

"What about dad?" he asked looking down. "What about him? He has nothing to do with this, Henry I've told you, your father and I are not going to happen. So get your stuff from school, I'm taking you to your mother's tonight." She patted his shoulder and stood.

"Tonight?" he said excitedly, then his gaze dropped when he realized that meant without her. "What about you?"

"I'll be here, and I'll pick you up Friday after school to come stay back here at the loft." She said with a smile.

"If I ask mom if you can stay over tonight, would you?" he asked hopefully. She could see the massive change his life was taking was affecting him so she nodded, "If Regina says it is okay, I'll sleep over." He jumped up from the bed and dashed out of the room. She shook her head as she slowly followed him.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs Emma saw the look on her mother's face and dreaded the conversation that was about to happen. "Is what Henry said true?" the pixie haired woman asked.

"Is my son moving home to his mother's? Yes." Emma replied. "He will be back on the weekend to spend it with us." She added.

"You don't have to do that Emma, he is YOUR son! WE rescued him from Pan—"

"Regina was there too Snow!" Emma exclaimed, then got a hold of her emotions; She was already trying to handle the loss of her son and her mother not listening to her just wasn't helping. Emma turned to Henry who looked positively frightened at his mother's outburst. "Henry, wait for me in the bug. Bring your school bag." She pointed to where the boy left it on the stairs.

After the boy left the apartment she turned to her mother, whose eyes were already flooded with tears. 'Great waterworks already. This should be fun.' Emma rolled her eyes at the theatrics.

"Look. He wants to live there. She has legal right to him. We, she and I, came to an agreement about the living situation. This loft is too small for 3 adults and a teenage boy!" she raised her voice steadily as her mother shook her head in disbelief. "Bottom line is, he is MY son, and this is my decision." The brunette looked as if she had been struck in the face. "He is your son Emma. He is MY grandson! SHE is the EVIL QUEEN! If it wasn't for her—"

"IF IT WASN'T FOR HER I WOULDN'T HAVE HENRY!" Emma yelled at her mother.

"She is NOT evil! Stop saying that in front of my kid. Stop encouraging him to distance himself from the only mother he has ever known! This ends TODAY!" Emma slammed her hand down on the kitchen island and startled the brunette.

"Emma, I didn't mean to—"

"No, but you did. I've made mistakes, mistakes with Regina I intend to fix. This is how I'm going about doing it." She was shaking from the surge of adrenaline pumping through her bloodstream. "I know you have history Snow, but she is trying to change. Can we just please, please try and be adults here?" Emma tried her best to pull in her emotions, the upset of not having Henry around was adding fuel to the anger over her mother's insistent objection.

"She has been given so many opportunities to change, Emma. She never has. Not ever." Snow said quietly.

"She never had a reason to." Emma met the familiar green eyes. "I'm asking this as a personal favor. Please?" Snow saw the intensity in her daughter's eyes and relented, nodding.

"What happens when you and Neal move in together?" the woman asked frankly.

Emma rolled her eyes, and clenched her jaw tight, pooling her patience.

"I may sleep over at Regina's tonight." She said as she turned away from her mother.

"Emma—" was all the woman got out before the blonde made it to the door and left the apartment.

"Your mom should be home, go get her to help carry this stuff in would ya kid?" Emma huffed as she opened the trunk of her bug and started lifting boxes out.

"Did you pack up my comics ma?" Henry looked almost frantic as he searched through one of the boxes. "Yeah, your precious collection is in their own box, I know how to treat your babies." She joked with him with a dimpled smile.

Regina came out of the mansion; she was wearing dress pants and a satin top, casual dress for the Mayor. Emma lifted one of the lighter boxes and handed it to the brunette, "Thanks for helping Madam Mayor."

"It is the least I could do." Regina shot back with a grin. The woman was positively glowing at the prospect of having her son home. _Joy looked good on her._

They unloaded all of the boxes and various bags Emma had packed with Henry's belongings and hauled them up to his room. He sat in the middle of the mess and beamed. Regina was sitting on his bed helping him go through his stuff. He directed her where he wanted certain items to go and she quickly complied. Emma stood leaning against the doorframe and watched mother and son, reunited again. She felt the sting threatening behind her eyes as she realized she was losing him. She had gotten used to playing 'Mom', because that is how it felt to her, she was just acting the part, but she enjoyed it. Being able to see him in the morning, picking him up from school, tucking him in at night, the whole bit. It dawned on her the heartbreak she was feeling in that moment, after having him for a few months, how HARD it must have been for Regina to let him go. After raising the kid for 10 years, to lose him like that, must have been hell on earth. The pain she caused the brunette welled up inside of her chest, and she had to turn from the scene and distance herself from them.

Emma went back out to her car and closed the trunk up, securing the doors and let the tears that had threatened to fall before go. She gasped and hugged herself at the loss she was feeling. Not just losing her son, because she wasn't losing him, not really, but of the bad decisions she had made over the last year. She stood in the driveway and wept for the pain she had caused to her son's mother.

"Emma?" the deep worried timber of the woman in question sounded behind her and she quickly pulled herself together.

"Yeah! I'm just locking down the bug. I'll be back in in just a sec!" she called over her shoulder as she pretended to lock up the car that was already locked.

A hand reached her shoulder and turned her around. The knowing look of the woman she used to call enemy broke down whatever semblance of composure the blonde had and she broke down and cried. Regina pulled her into a silent hug, not because the woman didn't know what to say, but because she knew there was nothing she could say. She knew exactly how the blonde felt at that moment. She had suffered this loss and knew there were no words.

"I'm sorry!" Emma exclaimed into the brunette's shoulder.

"Emma, it is okay dear, I know how you feel on this." Regina said soothingly.

"No!" Emma said as she pulled back from Regina. Her green eyes looked like sparkling jewels; they never looked more like emeralds then at that moment. "I'm sorry I took him from you Regina!" she cried, tears staining her cheeks. "I'm sorry I caused you this pain."

The brunette looked dumbfounded and was literally at a loss for words.

"I can't imagine how you felt, you are his mother, you raised him for ten years, just to have him taken from you! I've had him for a few months! I played mommy and took care of him, but you ARE mommy! And I ripped that from you without regard. I… I'm sorry Regina. Could you ever forgive me?" she wailed again, broken sobs flooding through her as she grasped at the brunette holding her in her arms.

"I forgive you Emma." Regina said softly into the tangle of blonde that was covering a majority of her face.

In the face of forgiveness for her thoughtless actions, Emma nodded against the brunettes shoulder and whispered her thanks.

"Will you stay for dinner?" Regina asked as the blonde pulled away from her and wiped her tears away. She sniffled and nodded once again. "Splendid." The queen beamed. Then both women returned to the house.

Henry was up in his room, oblivious of his mother's emotional out pour in the driveway, carefully cataloging his comic collection. He looked around his old room, he had grown up quite a bit since he last stayed here. This was home. Even though he would miss spending as much time with Emma, he was happy to be back. He not only missed his home, he missed his mother. He could see how hard his brunette mother was trying to be good. He had regrets about his past behavior towards her. He had a conversation with his birth mother regarding the queen where Emma had listed off all the ways the woman had taken care of him. She then disclosed that she herself, an orphan, had it much rougher than he could even imagine. The time he spent with the lost boys in Neverland, he saw what true orphans went through. Perhaps not the average plight of a child in the system, but the feeling of being unloved. That was a turning point for Henry. He had vowed to make it up to his mom. He had never felt unloved by the woman. However, due to his own actions, she felt that way by him. He was happy that Emma understood and was giving him this opportunity to fix the damage he had caused.

Dinner was ready and Emma came up to collect Henry who happily rushed into his mother's arms. He was pleased she was still there. He had yet to ask his mom if she could sleep over, the subject he intended on broaching during dinner. Mother and son went back down stairs and Regina was serving out a rather lavish meal. She had all of the major food groups covered, most of which were known to be Henry's favorites. The family sat and began eating, discussing Henry's day at school as if they had done so as a family a million other nights. Both of his mom's engaged in his stories, offering up each their own unique perspective on whatever subject they were discussing. Henry felt more a part of a true family than he ever had before. The dynamic had changed. Not just with the addition of _either_ Emma or Regina, but them _both_ , together. He smiled happily as he finished his veggies.

"Seriously Regina, that was the best meal I've ever had." Emma sat back deep in her chair and rubbed her flat stomach she had arched forward to simulate a gut.

"Be sure to mention that to your mother dear." Regina smiled coolly. Both women laughed. There was no more malice in the brunettes' voice when she sniped, it was truly in good fun and everyone at that table knew it.

"Mom," Henry took their lull in conversation to ask the question he'd been wanting to since they had gotten home. "May Emma stay over tonight? I think it would—"

"Certainly dear." She cut him off, no explanation required.

"You don't want to know why?" he was confused and a little put off; he had spent a long while thinking of a good reason.

"She is your mother; That is reason enough darling." She answered him.

"You guys really have changed, huh?" he didn't mean to say that out loud, and was nervous until both women laughed.

"Speaking of change, kid." His blonde mother started, "We have decided that as long as you want to see your dad, we are willing to let that happen." She looked over at the mayor who nodded before sipping her wine.

"Really?" he exclaimed. This had turned out to be the best day ever. "When can I see him?"

"After dinner I will call him and set up a time this week." She said. "But Henry, until your mother and I are comfortable with the arrangement, we both will be supervising the visitation." Henry looked anxious at this stipulation. "He won't hurt me mom." He directed his statement to his adoptive mother. His birth mother took the heat for her, "It isn't about that Henry, _I_ don't feel comfortable leaving you alone with him. Your mother agreed with me, that until I feel more comfortable, supervised visits with both of us will take place." She explained carefully, making sure he understood it wasn't Regina, but herself that was the cause for pause. Regina appreciated the blonde taking the responsibility and not painting her as a bad guy, added, "Emma knows Mr. Cassidy Henry, but I do not. We both need to feel you are safe, do you understand that?" The boy thought for a moment and nodded his head silently.

"Mom want to play Mario Kart?" he asked his birth mother excitedly.

"Sure, clear up the table and I'll go call Neal and set up a…" she swallowed hard, "Play date." Looking at Regina who nodded her head approvingly.

Emma was standing out on the front porch holding her phone in her hand. She didn't want to talk to Neal, it wasn't that she was afraid, she just never thought she would have to deal with him and now she does, and it sucks. She pounded the call button and waiting for him to answer. "Hey, it's Emma." She tried to sound casual but the stress in her voice was evident.

"Is Henry okay?" was his first question.

"Yeah. Uh, so Regina and I talked and decided visitation can be arranged as long as Henry wants to know you." That little dig at the end was her mean streak. She wanted him to know under no uncertain terms that if he screws this up, there would be no second chances.

"Cool. When can I have him?" Neal asked.

"You can't 'have' him Neal. Visitation will be supervised, until further notice."

"What? Why?" he demanded.

"Because Neal, you are a 200 year old child who broke my trust. Take it or leave it." She argued back.

"This was her idea wasn't it?" He stated it like a question but it was an accusation.

"No Neal, I'm the one you knocked up and put in jail. You should be grateful we are letting you see him at all!" her voice was angry, she had zero patience when it came to him and her tone wasn't pulling punches.

"Right." His sarcastic inflection exaggerated. "The Evil Queen has to control everything in everyone's' life."

Her voice lost its previous powerful volume and she gritted her teeth as she spoke. "You can lose the 'Evil Queen' bit right now. If you ever even hint at that when Henry is around, you will never see him again, do I make myself clear?"

He knew her well enough to know she meant every word. "Yeah." He tried to sound bored with her threats. "So when can I see him?" he asked again.

"Wednesday. We will spend the afternoon after school down at the park." She delivered the plan she and Regina had previously discussed.

"Fine." He said clearly pissed he wasn't getting his way.

"Fine." She said in response. "And Neal," she warned,

"Yeah?"

"Don't fuck this up." She disconnected the call and went back in the manor.


	3. Chapter 3

The bell rang and the entire class of children stood immediately, almost in unison. There was a disorganized shuffle as they all filed through the door to exit out for recess. Their teacher, Miss Blanchard, calling out instructions to them over the shuffling of sneakers on linoleum tile. "Walk! No shoving! Alex I saw that!" she walked around to her desk and watched her grandson talking with two other students. "Henry may I see you before you go?" she asked sweetly.

He said a quick see you later to his friends and ran up to his grandmother. "So how is it being back at Regina's?"

He smiled widely. "It's great. I missed my room and it's quiet and I don't have to wait for the bathroom and I missed my bed!" he blurted out. She smiled sweetly and patted the boy's head, "Is she treating you well?" she inquired.

"My mom?" he asked and she nodded silently. "Of course. She has changed. She is letting me see Emma whenever I want."

"Emma is your mother Henry." She casually reminded him.

"Yeah, so is my mom. They are getting along really well." He wanted to put his grandmother's mind at ease. "They are letting me see my dad."

"Neal?" Snow was suddenly interested. "They are letting you go see Neal?"

"Well," he started, "They will be supervising the visit, but only until Ma feels like he isn't going to hurt me or whatever."

"Neal is your father! Of course he won't hurt you!" she remembered how the man had helped them save Henry in Neverland.

"I know that!" he said defensively.

"I'm sure Regina is behind this." She said with malice, no longer noticing the boy's hurt look. "She always needs to control everything. She'll see, when Neal and Emma get back together, they will be happy. They just need a chance to be alone." She was devising a plan in her head as she walked around to the back of her desk. "When will your visitation be Henry?"

"Tomorrow." He said cautiously.

"Do you think you could talk Neal and Emma into a family dinner with you after your visit?" she asked.

"Maybe…" he was worried, he didn't like lying and this felt sneaky.

"You want your mom and dad to be happy, don't you?" she asked simply.

"Yeah." He answered honestly.

"She just needs a chance to see how good it could be, Henry. To be a family!" her green eyes sparkled at the prospect of her daughter getting her happy ending.

"Yeah, but Emma said…" he remembered his blonde mother's conversation about Neal the other day.

"I know what Emma said." His grandmother said sharply. She didn't snap at him, but she cut off what he was going to say none the less. "She is just afraid of getting hurt Henry. Do you think your dad will hurt her?"

"No." he shook his head. He knew his dad loved his mom.

"Does your dad love her?" the pixie haired woman goaded.

"Yeah, but…" he started.

"It is true love Henry!" She cut him off once again. "The most powerful magic in all the lands! Emma will see, just you wait. Then you will be a family." He wanted to believe what his grandmother was saying to him. She knew all about true love, she was Snow White after all. He wanted to believe and so he did. His grandmother went over the details of how the boy could get his mom and dad together. She made him promise not to tell anyone, especially Regina. After their plan was set she allowed the boy to run off to play with his friends, a wide satisfied smile on her face as she thought about how wonderful her daughter would look in a wedding dress. Her daughter would be happy, she just needed a little help. Neal would take care of her and their son and they would live happily ever after.

Emma was coming out of Granny's after delivering some paper work about zoning permits to Ruby. She was on her way to go pick up Henry to bring him home to the manor. Regina had a late meeting and had requested Emma's assistance. As part of their new co-parenting agreement, Emma was more than happy to help the mayor out. She stepped out onto the sidewalk as she checked her phone's messages when she caught out of the corner of her eye two figures scuffling a little ways down the street. As the Sheriff, she felt the need to investigate, the exchange looked heated. As she got closer to the two she realized it was Hook and Neal pushing each other and shouting loudly at one another.

"What the hell are you two doing?" she demanded.

"Swan! There she is now!" the pirate slurred.

"Are you drunk?" she accused the pirate. Then looked back at Neal who was suddenly sombre in his stance. She looked at Neal and asked again. "What is going on?" Neal shrugged his shoulders but Hook was just drunk enough to think it okay to explain exactly what they had been doing. "Baelfire here seems to think I was a mere rebound for you Swan!" he got right in the blonde's face and gently stroked her cheek. This got a rise out Neal who instantly pulled his arm away. When he did Killian's hook pierced Emma's shoulder. The pain was instant and the blood that followed was abundant. "Son of a bitch!" the blonde cried out. "You see? Hook! You are going to do nothing but hurt her!" Neal egged on the drunken man. "If you hadn't have pulled me my fair swan here would be unscathed!" the pirate shot back.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" the blonde was holding her shoulder where the puncture wound was, trying to stop the bleeding.

"YOU!" she pointed at Neal. "Go home!" she shouted.

"AND YOU!" she grabbed the pirate by the scruff of his jacket and led him away. He had a snarky smile as he looked over his shoulder at the little man and gave him a tiny victorious wave.

She marched him across the street and into the Sheriff's station. She tossed him into the empty cell and locked him in. "You! Sleep it off!"

"Oh Swan… come now! Bad form!" he called after her as she left him locked behind bars.

The next afternoon Emma showed up at the manor. She knocked on the door, as she usually did. Regina answered it a bit flustered. As if she was not expecting the blonde. "Did I not give you a key Emma?" she snarked.

"Yeah, but…" The blonde had no real excuse. She knew the invitation was open, that their relationship was changing, still she felt odd about barging into the woman's home. Especially when Henry wasn't there.

As if the brunette could see the reasons written on the blonde's face she raised her eyebrow in response. "I appreciate you not wanting to intrude on my personal space Miss Swan, but the offer was genuine." She pursed her lips together, uncomfortable with any sort of intimacy. "Shall we get this over with then?" she defaulted to the task that had brought the blonde to the manor to begin with. Emma nodded and swept her arm allowing the mayor to lead the way. The brunette automatically went to climb into her Benz. "I could drive…" Emma offered. "Not my baby you won't, and I refuse to get into your death trap on wheels." The brunette scoffed as she slipped into the driver's seat of her car.

They swung by and picked up Henry from school. Emma thought it odd her mother wasn't there waiting with him as she had been on most other occasions. She assumed the brunette was busy inside doing school-teachery stuff.

"Ready kid?" Emma asked as he got into the back of the car. "Am I!" They drove to the park where Emma told Neal they would meet. Henry ran ahead of the women crashing into his father who held a large radio controller in his hand. Neal had a huge smile as he held his son to him. It warmed Emma for a moment that he would have a chance to get to know her kid. Henry was such a fantastic boy. The fear the man would break the boy's heart was still there, but for that moment, she was pleased they had allowed this. She looked over at Regina who was standing next to her, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"Hey, let's go sit on the bench over there." Emma pointed out where she meant. It was a little further away than Regina felt comfortable, but it wasn't like the man could dash away with her son under his arm. At least not and get very far. Both of Henry's mothers had magic. The man would be minced toad in seconds. She smiled wickedly at the thought as she followed the blonde to her choice of seating.

They sat and watched their son and Neal captain a motorized boat the man had brought for their time together. The boys were laughing and talking and getting along quite well.

"This isn't so bad." Regina finally said.

"Yeah." Emma agreed.

"Why exactly am I here again?" the brunette asked plainly.

"I made some mistakes in Neverland. I told Neal I loved him."

"Do you?" the brunette asked.

"I did. Once upon a time, but no. Now I definitely do not."

"What does that have to do with me?" Regina asked patiently.

"Like I said I made mistakes in Neverland, I told Neal I loved him, I kissed Hook, It seems like the only thing I did right was become friends with you!" the blonde palmed her hand in the brunette's general direction.

"You think we are friends?" the mayor asked.

"You don't?" the blonde worried her lip. Taking the woman's comment as immediate rejection.

"I don't know. I've never really had friends before." The mayor said honestly.

"What about Katherine?" Emma offered up.

Regina rolled her eyes. "You really think that counts? She was cursed! She didn't have a choice Emma."

"What about Maleficent?" Emma asked. She didn't have a long list of who was friendly to the mayor but she knew that witch was high up there.

"She was an ally, and almost a bedfellow, but not a friend." The brunette threw back.

"You slept with Maleficent?" Emma's eyes bulged with surprise.

"I said 'almost' Miss Swan; I used her desire for me in order to get her to teach me glamour magic." A red tinge colored the mayor's cheeks at the admission of her exploitation of the witch for her own gain.

"Oh. So you weren't attracted to her." Emma understood using people for personal gain. She could see the shame in the mayor's face, _so much had changed_ she thought to herself.

"I didn't say that." The mayor looked uncomfortable with the direction of their conversation and Emma took the hint. "What about when you were a kid? Didn't you have school mates or something?" Emma asked innocently. The mayor sighed deeply as she watched her son laugh and point at the ship in the lake as he steered it towards the geese floating nearby. "Mother began training me to be Queen from birth. I was educated by way of tutors within our home, so I didn't have the opportunity to socialize with children my own age. Even if I had, Mother wouldn't have allowed other people's children in her home. So I never had friends as a child." She paused and stayed silent for a moment. Emma thought she was done sharing and was surprised when the woman continued. "Like I said, Mother began training me to be Queen from birth. I was taught that everyone beneath me was just that. Beneath me. I was to be Queen."

It was so plainly said, just a fact. The sadness and the horror in the blonde's green eyes confused Regina. "I suppose, you, Miss Swan, are the closest thing I ever had to a friend." She relented, feeling a bit more comfortable with the idea than when it was first presented. As if the idea had been her own.

Emma grabbed the brunette's hand, twisted their fingers together and simply said, "I like you too Regina." They sat like that in silence for some time, watching their son play with his overgrown teen aged father, when Regina's phone rang.

"My work line." She stood and walked behind the bench composing herself as the mayor to answer the call. When she returned to Emma her face was pulled tight, she explained there was an emergency that needed her immediate attention. Emma looked panicked. She mumbled about how they can cut short the visit and called Henry over. She started to explain to the boy Regina had to go and Henry started to whine. Regina pulled the blonde aside, just out of their son's ear shot. "Buck up Emma. You got this. He has two hours left. You can sit and play on your phone for two hours, you do it all day long at the Sheriff's station, this should be a breeze."

"Regina…" the blonde whined, sounding exactly like their son.

"No. You can do this for two hours. Suck it up Princess. Now I really need to go." She put a hand on her friend's shoulder to convey her belief in the blonde's ability to handle two hours with two children. "Two hours then take Henry back to the house and make dinner, please? I don't know how long this will take." She waved at Henry as her phone sounded off again, then she was strutting away to go save the town from some dire mayoral situation. Emma watched the woman for a few moments before turning back to her expectant son and his father. "You guys have two hours, so go on!" The boys high fived each other which got an exaggerated eye roll from the blonde. After the boys went back to their seaworthy craft Emma took out her phone and answered some texts she had from Ruby about how to fill out the papers she left her yesterday.

Shortly thereafter Henry bounded up to his mother pulling her attention away from her little screen. "Mom! May we all go to dinner at Granny's?" she saw the hopefulness in the boy's eyes, but really didn't want to. It felt like a date. A _family_ date, and she was completely uncomfortable with it. "Uh, I don't think that is a good idea, kid." She started shaking her head. "Please mom? Dad has an hour left and I'm hungry for something other than Kraft Dinner." He heard his adoptive mother ask the blonde to feed the boy and although he had intended on Granny's because it was part of the plan, he also knew Emma would default to one of the three things she knew how to cook. Eggs, cereal or Kraft dinner.

"Please?" he begged. Neal put his hand on the boys shoulder and smiled, _the smile he used when he thinks he is being so fucking cute._ "We have an hour;" he said, "I want to take him to get something to eat. Since you are supervising us, you'll need to come. Eat or not, it's my hour." Emma rolled her eyes as Henry smiled widely. "Fine." She relented as she stood from the bench and followed the children back to Neal's car. "Swing by the manor first, I want the"bug." She said as she climbed into the back seat of Neil's car.

Regina's "Emergency" wasn't really an emergency. The dwarves were picketing the mayor's office, at Snow White's request, unbeknownst to the mayor herself. They held a variety of signs as they shouted and chanted "Not Our Price To Pay!"

Several town folk held signage that stated:

"EQUAL RIGHTS FOR DWARVES"

"WE ARE NOT SLAVES!"

"DWARF'S LIVES MATTER!"

"DOWN WITH ROYALS!"

"MY LIFE'S NOT WORTH YOUR WISHES!"

Regina got there and fought her way through the picket line. Other residents had gathered to either support the dwarves or just see what the commotion was about and there was a sizeable crowd by the time Regina had gotten there. She stood on the steps to city hall and put her hands up; she commanded their silence in the most diplomatic way possible, which turned out to be just short of a booming "QUIET!" She addressed the dwarf known as Grumpy. "What exactly is this about half pint?" she stared him down. "Us Dwarves pay the price for the fairy's magic and we won't stand for it anymore!" he yelled the last part of the sentence and as if on queue they started to chant once again.

"Okay Okay!" she managed to quiet them once more before speaking to the crowd, "Look, you guys aren't forced to mine like you were in the Enchanted Forest, I couldn't care less if there is fairy magic _or_ fairy dust! Disperse immediately!" she commanded forcefully.

"Aren't you even going to listen to our demands? This is a peaceful protest, but it doesn't have to be!" one of the other dwarves asked, she thought it was Whiney, or Annoyey or whatever his name was. She rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. Since you've pulled me back into the office, let's sit down and hear your complaints." The crowd in its entirety lunged forward, "ONLY THE HALF MEN!" she shouted warningly.

"We are _full_ men in this world, sister!" Grumpy defended.

"You were hatched; I use the term "men" loosely." The queen sneered.

Once they got up to the office she directed them to the board room. She watched them file down the hall towards the room she indicated, then headed to her office to get a pen and paper to take their demands seriously. Truth be told, she did take their concerns seriously. She had heard the talk of breeding more dwarves to aid in getting people who wanted to return to the Enchanted Forest back there. More dwarves meant faster production of fairy dust, but she also knew that the men suffered within the mines. There was a new proposition that was being called to get council support on the matter shortly, which was what most likely spurred this little uprising, she surmised.

She passed her secretary and gave her a glare as she strode by. The woman gave her an apologetic look and shrugged her shoulders. The girl had made it sound life or death on the phone; Now that the mayor was here, well she would handle it of course, but she was still irritated, and the young woman who manned the phones was as good as any to direct her hostility.

After a couple hours of hashing out dwarf rights Regina asked, "Will that be all? It is a lengthy list, but I don't see a problem with getting these talking points added to the next town meeting."

Bashful asks grumpy "Is that all the time she needed?"

"Who needed?" The queen demanded.

Grumpy cut in and said "No one." at the same time Bashful said, "Snow."

"What!? Explain yourselves immediately!" The queen felt the tension in the room.

Doc covered Bashful's mouth as he started to explain. The queen lifted and quieted six of the seven dwarves, tree branches reaching out from the woodland feel of the wall paper snatched them up and gagged them securely. Grumpy shook his head and used his eyes to glare at Bashful who didn't quite understand what was going on. He was frightened though.

Regina put on her 'it's okay' persona she used to soothe children, and said in her Mommy voice, "Bashful is it?" The dwarf nodded, "What exactly was Snow White's plan? Why was she keeping me here _exactly_?"

Bashful looked over at his brothers, afraid to speak.

She turned him and knelt down to look at him and rubbed his shoulders like a mother would for her child.

"It's okay sweetheart you can tell me." she cooed with a sweet smile.

She stored her rage down so very deep, not even an inkling of the storm that was brooding within her showed in her eyes. She was the epitome of calm and serenity to this little man before her.

He cleared his throat, "Snow said we needed to keep you busy so her daughter could get her happy ending with true love."

When he said true love his cheeks got all rosy as he blushed and plastered a dumb look on his face.

"So Snow is trying to set up Emma and Neal." She questioned.

Bashful nodded excitedly. "Then they will get married and Henry will be safe with his mommy and daddy!" He exclaimed proudly. Not quite understanding what he was saying.

That was it, the queen's rage erupted.

She ripped up the notes she had painstakingly taken and released the dwarves. "Get out!" She grabbed Leroy by the lapel, "If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I'll let those nuns work you to death!"

Leroy believed her and nodded, fright evident on his hard features.

"We do want equal rights your majesty! Just because Snow wanted us to keep you here doesn't mean what we talked about wasn't real! Please?" The man even begged in a grumpy manner.

She stood her full height and let go of the man. "Very well dwarves," she said, her regal tone thick in the air.

"I agree with you. All magic comes with a price. The fairies have been pushing that price off onto you for far too long. I'll make you a deal; I'll consider your talking points, and when you report back to Snow White, you fail to tell her of Bashful's indiscretion. Tell her everything went as planned and I was none the wiser. Then..." She paused for dramatic theatrics...

"You'll have your freedom."

Leroy nodded but even with his trademark glare she saw the gratefulness in his eyes.

Once the talk started to circulate that the fairies had worked out a plan to get people home, most of Storybrooke couldn't care less how they achieved that goal. Regina found it reprehensible, but mostly because she didn't believe in slavery. She had done many horrible things as her time as ruler of the known world, but there were lines even she didn't cross.

Regina also didn't care to go back to the Enchanted Forest. However she knew this proposition for new dwarves was David Nolan's idea. She didn't think he knew the ramifications of it completely. Not everyone understood the balance of power between dwarves and fairies. Fairies were always considered good, even though their magical price tag filtered through the lives, and consequently deaths of the dwarves they bred and used. Used not only as slaves in the mines, but their lives were cut short thru overuse of magic, wishes granted, new fairies being made, etc. Regina made the decision then she would help these men as best she could.

Emma did not eat with Neal and Henry. She sat at the counter and played on her phone and ignored Ruby's nudging to go spend time with her 'family' when Neal's time was up Emma rose from the counter and went over to the boys who were laughing in the booth. They had finished their meal some time ago and Emma was eager to go.

"We were going to have ice cream, want to join us?" Neal smiled and put his arm up across the back of the booth flirtatiously.

"No. Time's up. Let's go kid you've got homework."

"Please mom?" Henry pleaded.

"Please Emma?" Neal mimicked the kid.

She bent down close to Neal and said in a low voice, "Can I see you outside?" she was clearly angry and he missed the cues completely. He nodded his head at Henry who gave him a covert thumbs up and went out to talk to his true love, his hands deep in his pockets and a wild grin that quickly faded, "Seriously? You're pulling this shit on day one Neal? We've given you an allotted time! And that's not good enough? And you wonder why we are supervising your visitation? Don't undermine my authority in front of my son!" She bellowed.

"I didn't—" He was shocked and tried to defend himself as she raged.

"You DID! This isn't a game Neal! Try and act like a goddamn adult for once in your life! What are you 200? It is overdue!"

"I just thought we—" He had that pretty boy smile he used on Emma when they dated.

"You thought WRONG!" She yelled at him.

He got defensive, "So this is about Hook?"

She threw her hands up in the air. "Your time is up. We are leaving."

She opened the door to Granny's, Henry was sitting talking to Ruby at the booth where she left him.

"Henry! Let's go!" She called to him shortly.

"But mom?" he whined and tried one last effort to get his parents together.

"NOW!" she bellowed into the diner.

She grabbed his hand and marched past her ex; she whipped around and pointed a finger at him

"This isn't about Hook. This is about YOU! I messed up and said things that I shouldn't have because I was glad you were alive. Not for me, but for Henry. If you keep this juvenile crap up, you won't have any part in my sons life Neal! And if you are willing to risk a relationship with your kid for an OFF chance, and let me be clear as glass, no chance in hell, at a relationship with me, then you are exactly the man I think you are and I will make _sure_ Regina never lets you see Henry ever again!" She grabbed Henry's hand and stormed off towards the bug. She expected Neal to call after her, to chase her. To try to smooth things over, but he stood there dumbfounded as he let her words soak in.

Henry sat in the passenger's side of bug silently brooding on their way back to the manor. She could tell he was mad, but she was livid and couldn't talk to him about it. They arrived home and he got out of the car and slammed the door with unnecessary force. "Hey!" She shouted at him.

"I just wanted you to spend some time with him!" He shouted back at her. "He is your true love!"

"NO HE ISN'T!" She shouted back at him.

They were standing in front of the manor yelling at each other when Regina pulled into the driveway. She got out and yelled at both of them, "What the hell are you two doing?" They both started to talk to her at the same time and she couldn't hear either of them. She put her hands up to silence them both. "ENOUGH! Henry, you first."

"Emma won't give my dad a break! She won't even admit he is her true love!" Emma threw her hands up and stomped away to pace by the brunette's Benz. "I just wanted them to spend some time together so she could see that he could make her happy!" He was all but tearing up at the admission. Regina said "You know you can't make Emma love Neal. She has told you she doesn't. What makes you think spending time together would change that?"

"You two spent time together in Neverland and you guys changed and you used to hate each other!"

"That's true Henry—" Regina started but the blonde cut in, "But Neal hurt me." Emma said. "He hurt me so bad it broke me. It changed who I was. After him, I couldn't trust people." She looked at Regina. "Now, it takes a life and death situation for me to even consider it."

" _She_ hurt you!" The boy cried pointing at Regina. "She cast the curse that separated you from your family! Why forgive her and not dad?"

"She didn't separate me from Mary Margaret and David, Henry. That was _their_ choice. I don't blame Regina for that."

"You don't?" both mother and child asked in unison.

"No." She turned to Regina, "You didn't stick your hours-old infant daughter into a magical wardrobe that led to who knows where in the care of a 6 year old and hope for the best. That was _their_ decision." Emma said honestly.

"No, but I cast the curse that made it so they felt they had to." Regina rebutted.

"The curse that gave me our son Regina. I can't hate you for that."

"But you can hate dad?" Henry spat.

She turned her attention back to the boy, "Yes. What he did Henry, broke me so badly that I gave _you_ up."

"Then perhaps I should be the one to thank Mr. Cassidy." Regina mumbled aloud.

Emma lolled her head and rolled her eyes then looked back at the boy who was still visibly angry.

"You need to stop this Henry. I thought you understood after the talk we had." His blonde mother pleaded for his understanding. "I did." He looked down at his feet his cheeks reddened and Regina caught a clue.

"Henry? Who put you up to this?" his adoptive mother asked.

Emma looked confused when she opened her mouth to speak. Regina put her finger up to the blonde silently telling her to hold on.

"Henry?" the brunette asked again.

He wrapped his arms around himself in a defiant pout. Emma saw this and knew Regina was onto something. _This was a ploy._ And it hadn't been Henry's idea. "Answer your mother young man!" The blonde said authoritatively, surprising the mayor and startling her son into speaking.

"Grandma said if you could go on a date with dad, we could be a family, you'd see he loves you and true love is magic mom!" He started to cry, feeling like he was betraying his grandmother and feeling the anger roll off both of his mother's; he knew he was in trouble. "She said you'd see he loves you and what you were missing - we could be a family!" Emma was stunned for a moment as she took in this information. It was completely unexpected. She honestly didn't think Snow White would go this far to manipulate her. She staggered as the realization hit home and Regina rushed to her side putting her arm around her to keep her upright.

"And did she tell you that you'd go live with them? Away from me Henry?" She held her breath hoping beyond reason his desire to stay with her had been real. That he still loved her as he had claimed.

He shook his head no.

"Well at least Snow knew enough of the boy's wishes to only tell him part of the plan." Regina said dryly.

"Part of the plan?" Emma looked at her quizzically. She was shaking visibly.

"Henry you need to apologize to your mother this instant for being sneaky, lying and manipulating her! That is not how I raised you! You are grounded this weekend, no TV, videogames OR comics! And you will be raking the entire yard Saturday! Do you understand me?" Her words were strong and clear. "Yes ma'am." He said sheepishly "I'm sorry mom." His words directed at his blonde mother.

Emma couldn't speak she just nodded. Regina finished by telling him to go to his room.

After the boy left Emma found her voice. "P-part of the plan?"

"Yes. Seems Snow orchestrated the little (pun intended) dwarven demonstration to occupy me away from her little love connection between you and Mr. Cassidy. So you two would fall in love get married move in and take full custody of Henry."

Emma staggered back once again. "Even if I got together with Neal, Regina, I would never do that to you. Not again!" she was horrified. The blonde started to tear up at the remembrance of her own heartache at losing her son, just a few days ago on this very spot.

Regina stepped closer and wiped the fresh tears from the apples of her cheeks. "I believe you Emma. This was your mother's plan, I am aware of that."

"I need to go straighten her out." The blonde started to march towards her vehicle when the mayor's arm caught her mid stride. "No." Regina said suddenly.

"No?" Emma questioned.

"Not tonight. We need a plan of our own. And I could use a drinking buddy tonight." she smiled sweetly "and you look like you could use a friend dear." Emma relented. She was emotionally drained after blowing up at Neal, then Henry's admission about her own mother. She hooked her arm through Regina's and let herself be led into the mansion. Once they got inside she blankly asked, "Could I rent your spare room?"

"No."

"Oh…" The savior was clearly hurt by the rejection.

"But..." The brunette said, "But you may _have_ it as long as you like dear."


	4. Chapter 4

They went into the kitchen and Regina took out a salad from the crisper. "Did you eat Emma?" She offered the blonde to share her meal. Emma shook her head and grabbed herself a fork.

"What's with the rabbit food?" Emma asked.

"I honestly expected dinner when I got home." The mayor threw back.

"I'm sorry Regina!" Emma said with sincerity. "Neal took Henry to Granny's and I didn't eat there, but I didn't think… I'm sorry!" she repeated knowing she had messed up.

Regina chuckled trying to put the blonde at ease. "It's fine. Salad is good too."

"Not as good as Kraft Dinner would have been." Emma mumbled.

"Duly-noted. You are off food prep duties." The queen declared. She took out a bottle of wine and poured them each a glass.

"So what happened at the office?" Emma finished her glass and poured herself a new one.

"The dwarves equal rights? Yes, it was more than just a ploy of Snow White, the dwarves have a legitimate grievance and I intend to give them voice." Regina stated. Punctuated the word _voice_ with a mouthful of greens.

"I don't understand. They aren't treated equally?" Emma tried to comprehend.

"All magic comes with a price Emma, even fairy magic. The fairies have passed the price of their magic onto the dwarves. They think they have a right to do this because technically they created the dwarves. Your father intends to start production of more dwarves to drive the mining force of fairy dust production. The dwarves lives are horrible in our land. They were created for one purpose. To be slaves. They aren't allowed to be anything other than that. The mining work is hard and dangerous and cuts many of their lives prematurely. Not to mention, when a wish is granted by a fairy, dwarves are essentially sacrificed to balance the scales. Their lives are owned and they have no say."

"Jesus Regina! And they call YOU evil?" Emma exclaimed.

"THANK YOU!" Regina threw her hands up in the air. She smiled as the blonde chuckled then continued. "Since the curse, the few dwarves we have, got a taste of freedom. I guess they aren't too keen on going back into forced servitude."

"And David wants that?" Emma asked, horror painted on her face. "I honestly don't think David Nolan realizes the cost of his plan. It isn't common knowledge about fairy magic's price. Although the royals all know, your father isn't a true royal." She finished her own wine and refilled her glass.

"But Mary Margaret is." Emma could feel the bile threatening to surge at the back of her throat. "As much as I loathe defending Snow, she is most likely ignorant on this as well." She paused to chew the last bite of salad. "It's not like her father was around to teach her to be queen. And I certainly never discussed the finer points on running the kingdom." She said plainly.

They finished the bottle of wine and Regina asked if she'd like her to open another.

"No. But I think I'd like some cider." The savior smiled wide, the dimple digging deep into her cheek. Regina laughed, "Chasing down the apple dragon again Miss Swan?"

"It is a cider drinking kind of night." Emma blushed lightly.

"I suppose it is." Regina agreed. Emma jumped down off the seat the counter had provided and followed the brunette into the study where she had her decanter set. She stopped at the door and told the blonde to help herself. "You're not joining me?" Emma looked hurt. "Yes, but I'm going to check on Henry. And perhaps change out of my work clothes." Emma looked down and considered what the brunette was saying.

"I can give you something to sleep in, Emma. I assume you'll be staying?" The blonde perked up and nodded then followed her upstairs. "Perhaps you could manage to wear the whole thing this time?" She laughed as Emma stopped dead in her tracks. She answered the question in Emma's eyes.

"I did say you were snoring, I investigated to make sure you were not being decapitated by a circular saw." She laughed at the shock in the green eyes and the blush that painted her face bright red. "Oh please Miss Swan, it isn't something I haven't seen before," the half a bottle of wine made her eyes display much more than she normally would have. "You have a habit of answering your door in your underwear, remember?" The blonde blinked, surprised that the mayor remembered that, it had been when they first met. She had thought at the time the woman was checking her out, then later dismissed the crazy hot mayor as being a hot mayor who was also crazy, then an Evil Queen and now finally, just Regina. Now she was questioning the look Regina was giving her as once again those black eyes fluttered down the blonde's body as she handed her a set of pajamas. This time they were red. These particular ones Emma had seen the mayor wear. Her body flushed at the definitive knowledge the mayor's naked body had been in them.

"Emma? Are you ok? You just got pale." The queen's voice was full of worry. The blonde nodded. "I need a drink. It's been a long day." she said. She turned on her heel and walked down to her bedroom.

 _Her bedroom._

Still not really hers. 'But it could be', she thought.

She went in her room and got changed.

When she came back out in the hall Regina was heading into Henry's room. Knocking gently and opening the door before he said for her to come in. Emma made a mental note to remind Regina their son was a teenager now and what he could be doing, she was sure Regina didn't want to walk in on. It was doubtful that was occurring at this moment so she kept quiet as the brunette entered their son's room.

Henry was sitting on his bed writing in a note book. Journal writing was something Emma had encouraged when he first started to live with her. She was pleased to see he was still doing it. It had always helped her. Even if she burned the pages afterwards, getting the thoughts down on paper helped quiet her mind. "Time for bed young man." His mother's voice soft, but authoritative. He asked if he could finish and Regina looked back at Emma who nodded her blonde head. "You may." Regina spoke Emma's sentiment, "but then right to sleep, understood?"

"Yes ma'am." He always used that term when he knew he was in trouble. It was meant to be compliant in the way it sounded, relenting submission towards his mother's hard line authority. Emma spoke up after Regina stood from his bed, "We can talk tomorrow kid if you have questions or don't understand why what you did was wrong."

"Yes ma'am." He surprised her with the same phrase as he used on his real mother. She couldn't help the feeling of pride for a split second. That, even though he was unhappy about being in trouble, he was respecting her as he did his actual mother. For the first time since the kid entered her life she felt like his parent.

"Don't be long then lights out." Regina added as she walked towards the door. "Good night Henry."

"Night kid." Emma said at the same time.

"Night moms." He mumbled as he wrote.

Regina had on a silk night shirt that came down to just below her hips around mid thigh. She had a navy colored satin robe that covered her, but her cocoa colored legs were completely bare and as she walked ahead of the blonde, that is what Emma stared at. Sculpted thighs walking away from her. "Ready for that drink sheriff?" The mayor drawled, not looking back at her, not noticing where the blonde's attention lay.

Emma followed her stiffly back into the study, Regina poured them both a generous serving of cider and handed Emma her glass. She sat down in the corner of the couch and tucked her legs up under herself. Emma sat down on the other side facing the brunette. "So. A plan of our own?" Emma started.

"Yes. Operation Snow Job." Regina chuckled at her own joke. "Tell her you met someone, but you don't want to jinx it until you know for certain it will work out. It will get her off your back about Neal and after a few months, once she is over the 'Neal is your true love', you tell her you broke up with mystery man and you're not interested in dating. She will have gotten over her infatuation with your baby daddy and you'll have some semblance of peace while her little brain processes it." Regina punctuated her plan with a sip of cider.

"That's... kind of brilliant Regina."

"You look surprised." The brunette questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I just thought there'd be more..." Emma looked for a way to not offend the queen, but quickly realized she dug herself into this hole. A guilty look crossed her fair features. "What Miss Swan? More curses? More poison? More murder?" The queen mocked.

"No." Emma replied looking like a petulant child.

"What then?" The queen asked.

"Ok yes, more magic, like we scramble her memories to forget Neal existed."

"If you think I could do that without some major life altering curse, don't you think I would have done that with your father? It would have been far more satisfying him forgetting her and her living with a broken heart instead of uprooting the known world to a magicless realm!" she huffed regally.

"Jesus Regina!" Emma exclaimed looking properly horrified.

"Sorry was I being too honest again dear?" It came across snarky, but the queen was actually asking the savior.

"Y-yeah." Emma answered and took another gulp of her drink.

Regina shrugged her shoulders. "Well I can't. And I wouldn't. Not now anyway."

"I'm sorry." Emma looked guilty.

"Whatever for?" Regina asked honestly.

"I know you've changed. I just... No. There's no excuse. I apologize Regina. Your plan is perfect." The blonde nodded to punctuate her statement.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Emma remembered something she intended to mention to her son's mother. "You know, Henry is a teenager now." She started, stalling a little searching for her footing on the topic.

"Yes, I know. He has grown up so much in the last few months." Regina sighed dreamily.

"I mean, I think it is a good idea," she stumbled on her own words looking for an easy way to say what she was thinking. "That we wait for him to give us permission to enter his room when his door is closed." Emma finished satisfied the queen would understand what she was getting at.

"I give him privacy Emma." Regina sounded offended.

"No, I know, I mean, he is a _teenager_ now." The blonde extenuated the word teenager as if it would explain everything she wasn't directly saying.

The brunette looked blankly, waiting for her to continue.

"Regina!" she sighed realizing she would need to spell it out. "He is getting to the age where he will be exploring his own body, and stuff." She said nervously watching the wheels click into place within her friend's head. "We just don't want to walk in on him, you know, doing that."

Regina scoffed at the insinuation, "Only degenerates and delinquents abuse their bodies in such a way." and waved the blonde off.

"Wait, you've never—" Emma turned beet red at the question.

"Of course not!" Regina was offended. "I was to be Queen!" she lifted her head regally.

Emma looked shocked, "Not even as a kid?" she asked a little quieter than her normal speaking voice.

Regina seemed to realize that perhaps it was more normal to explore than to refrain and she started to look embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Emma quickly added seeing the uncomfortable look on her friend's face loud and clear.

"No." the mayor said definitively answering the blonde honestly. "I never had privacy as a child, and as you know, my mother was… well Cora." She explained with a pained expression. "I didn't have much experience when I was married, Daniel and I had never…" her eyes softened sadly at the thought of her first love.

"So you were a virgin when you married the king?" Emma asked. The brunette nodded and took another drink from her glass.

"The king consummated our marriage, it wasn't pleasant." She said looking down into her glass as if searching for a way to drown these uncomfortable feelings. "Not like they talk of in stories of love and romance. I suppose it was because I didn't love him, and he was far from romantic. For several months after we were wed, he came to me, trying to produce a male heir." She said sadly. "When the few pregnancies I had produced fruitless, the medicine men were brought in to determine that I had a hostile womb." She held back the tears in the face of her painful memories. "After they declared that it was my fault, he stopped coming to me altogether." She swallowed another mouthful of cider. "He took a mistress, which was fine by me." She said honestly. "I hated him and he knew it. Then a couple years later I murdered him."

"Jesus Regina do you have to put it like that?" Emma exclaimed.

"Would you prefer I say the king had an unfortunate accident? Because to me it wasn't unfortunate, nor was it an accident." The brunette snarked bitterly.

"No, but still!" Emma felt ill.

"It is what happened Emma. I hated him. He ruined my life as thanks because I saved his brat. I didn't kill him personally, but my actions made it happen." Emma was in a stunned silence. "Make no mistake, it is who I am Emma. The evil queen."

"It may have been who you were Regina. But I don't believe that is who you are. I believe you've changed. Henry changed you."

"I murdered Graham." She reminded the blonde with a pointed look.

Emma's face grew sullen. "I know." The alcohol gave her the courage to ask the question she had always wondered, "Were you jealous?"

"No." The brunette said. "I was frightened. He was remembering and I thought if the curse broke I'd lose Henry. Which, may I remind you, was a valid concern! As that is exactly what happened."

Emma looked confused, "But you two were... Together... He kissed me. You weren't jealous?"

The mayor shook her head. "Not in the sense you mean. We may have been intimate, but I never felt anything for him. I really don't understand the appeal to be honest." She finished her glass and held the empty crystal against her chest as her arms wrapped around herself. "It was something I thought I should want to be doing, so I did." she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

She wasn't expecting the level of her own honesty, and by the look on Emma's face, she knew she had revealed too much, although she wasn't entirely sure why that was the case.

"Did you have, you know, someone during your… reign?" Emma stumbled out, formulating an opinion and feeling the need to prove it one way or another.

"During my reign of terror?" the queen chuckled. "No. I was goal orientated and that goal had nothing to do with love."

"Regina, have you never had an orgasm?" Emma whispered.

"I'm sure I have." She shrugged her shoulders, suddenly feeling exposed by the blonde's question.

Emma's eyes bulged and she covered her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from making any unexpected sounds that would embarrass the queen. Her mind reeled at this new information. She simultaneously thought she needed to provide this woman some education on the matter and how in sweet fucking Jesus was she going to educate the mayor on this matter! Then a small quiet thought crept into her conscious mind about _how_ she wanted to educate the mayor on this matter. She blinked rapidly and looked everywhere but those dark eyes that seemed to be studying her. She cleared her throat and brought the conversation back on topic. Henry.

"Henry. He is a boy. Boys do that. A lot. It is perfectly natural. We can't make him feel bad or wrong about doing it. Just." She finally looked Regina in the eyes; the woman was confused by the turn of their conversation. "Knock and wait for him to say come in before you walk in. Trust me on this okay?"

"Alright." the brunette shrugged again seemingly blissfully ignorant to her newly teenaged son.

"So are you really moving in here?" Regina asked trying to sound casual about it.

"As long as you don't mind." Emma said, "Until I can find a place. I need some distance between me and Mary Margaret after today." She looked at the clock on the wall and corrected herself. "Yesterday."

"I don't mind at all Emma," Regina sounded so very soft, "I can put the furniture from the spare room into the upstairs office to make room for your belongings."

Emma swallowed the last of her cider. The warmth from the alcohol enveloped her. "Damn this shit is good." She unintentionally said out loud. "I only have a couple of boxes back at the loft." She added with a content smirk on her face.

"What about your bed?" The brunette said. "The bed I sleep on is Mary Margaret's." the blonde answered.

"You've been here a year, surely the sheriff's wage isn't so bad you cannot afford to purchase simple bedding dear." The mayor snarked.

"No, I mean yes, my wage is adequate. I just never did it. I guess." She started to feel embarrassed by her lack of foundation. Even finding her parents, she hadn't actually lived there. She stayed there, sure, but it wasn't permanent. Not really. Not in any way that mattered.

"Well dear, it sounds like we should make a shopping date. You need a bed and a wardrobe. The room is spacious enough for a desk for a computer so you can, I don't know, do whatever it is you do." The mayor said jovially.

Emma could see behind Regina's attempt at flippancy regarding the blonde's bedroom activities, there was kindness there. Understanding. Empathy. "I just won't have you defile my belongings is all." The woman stood and brought the bottle of cider over to the couch. She poured each of them a bit more and left the crystal bottle on the table, retaking her seat. When she sat, she repositioned herself, bringing her knees to her chest, wrapping one arm around them, leaning the side of her body against the back of the couch sipping her cider in silence.

Although the woman's legs were together, her night shirt had slid up her thigh, gathering around her hips. The pink fabric of her panties clearly visible to the blonde. The mayor either hadn't noticed or hadn't minded that her most intimate of places was directly in Emma's line of sight.

Emma looked her in the eyes at all times, consciously forcing herself to keep eye contact.

 _'Under no circumstances are you to look at her crotch Swan.'_ However, she could still see the light pink strip nestled between her cocoa thighs in her peripheral vision. She could see the queen and it was making Emma's body throb.

Emma cleared her throat and turned herself so she was facing forward on the couch. Forward and not not- looking at her son's mother's vagina.

She repeated aloud the last thing she heard the mayor say which was _shopping spree_.

It was actually 'defile her belongings', but at that moment she wanted very much to defile the woman's belongings. So she went with shopping spree.

"When can we go shopping?" Emma asked no longer looking at the brunette.

"Are you okay Emma?"

"Yeah." she said still not looking at her.

"I was kidding; you can use my things as long as you want to." The mayor knew the blonde was uncomfortable. Emma wasn't keen on settling down and Regina thought perhaps she overstepped her comfort zone.

 _'Phrasing!'_ Emma's mind shouted at her.

She turned at looked back at the mayor. Her brown eyes were filled with confusion; she clearly thought Emma was upset. She certainly didn't have a clue what the blonde was actually thinking. 'Which is probably good.' Emma thought.

She smiled warmly at the brunette. "No you're right. It's time I settled here. Thanks Regina. You're a good friend."

"I am?" She looked genuinely surprised.

"Yes. One of the things I love about you is that you never let me coast. You challenge me." Emma smiled.

"Because I want you to go shopping?" Regina reiterated.

"Yeah, because you want me to stay." She looked down into the amber colored liquid in her glass and spoke from the heart.

"I never bought a bed or any furniture or anything really that was permanent because Snow didn't make me. She was content letting me stay in my comfort zone and use her stuff, probably indefinitely if I stayed on there." Emma smiled sadly, "Because she is more concerned with my comfort than my personal growth." she added softly.

"She's your mother; she just wants you to be happy Emma." Regina said quietly. Comprehension of what she just said struck her hard. "Oh god! I'm defending Snow White's actions! No more cider for the queen!" She laughed aloud at her own joke. A true laugh, honest and heartfelt.

Emma burst out laughing as well. She noticed the mayor's laugh was positively intoxicating. Her honest laugh, not the snide chuckle she normally had. She stopped and stared at the woman at this sudden realization. "You have a great laugh Regina." She hadn't meant to say it out loud and the sound of her own voice startled her. She recovered her senses as an odd look crossed the mayor's face, curiosity mixed with a touch of what-the-fuck?

Emma felt the need to get back to their conversation, "I just meant that you don't care for my comfort, you push me to grow. Be better. A better person. A better mother to our son. That's all." She said honestly. It was too late, the queen had already been side tracked. "What the hell does that have to do with my laugh?"

"Nothing. It was just an observation." Emma said shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders, trying desperately to pass off her earlier comment as casual.

"Oh." The queen was inept at receiving compliments Emma noted. That was something she could educate the brunette on and fully intended to. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Emma asked again when they should go shopping. "Tomorrow as long as you're feeling up to it." Regina looked knowingly at Emma's almost empty glass. "While Henry is at school."

"Can we pick up my stuff from my parent's loft while she is at school too?" Emma asked sheepishly.

"You need to tell them Emma. They will no doubt blame me."

"How could they blame you? Don't be such a drama queen Regina." Emma rolled her eyes.

"The only drama queen in this family savior, is your mother!"

"Did you just say we were family?"

"I am your mother's evil stepmother Emma."

"Ew Regina! No! That's weird! And gross!"

"It's true! How exactly is it gross?"

Emma's eyes bulged and she instantly turned a shade of red reserved for apples and Santa Clauses.

"You're my kid's mother." She searched her booze riddled mind for a plausible explanation or her use of the word _gross_. "I don't see how that would be disgusting Emma!" Anger flashed within the black pits of her eyes. "Unless you mean because I'm the evil queen I'm not fit—"

"NO! God Regina! No! It's because..." She sighed not entirely believing she was about to say the words that were caught in her throat.

"It's because...? What Miss Swan?"

Emma finished the remainder of her cider and put the empty glass down on the table.

"Because I think you're hot and I can't think you're hot if you're my step-grand—"

"Stop right there," Regina held out a finger as a warning. "Don't you ever call me what you were about to say." She was stark serious at that very moment. "You're right. I'm not your mother's step mother. I was never a parent to Snow. I was only a couple years older than she."

"Ew." Emma couldn't help saying out loud when she thought about the king bedding a girl his teenage daughters age.

"Wait." Regina pulled her attention towards the blonde, "Did you just say you think I'm attractive?"

Emma closed her eyes, she honestly thought she'd gotten away with it. She peeked at the brunette thru one barely open slit trying to gauge the queen's reaction. Regina's face was unreadable. Her diplomatic mask was firmly in place. "Yeah!" Emma decided to just admit it but in a way that didn't make her seem pathetic. "I have eyes Regina. They do work." A rosy tinge crept over the brunette's cheeks. "Well." Regina said simply because she wasn't sure of what else to say. "You're very..." She stumbled for the adjective... "Visually pleasing as well."

Emma bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood in order to keep herself from laughing. "Thank you Regina." She knew the exchange had been significant albeit awkward. "So we will take Henry to school and go shopping? Or should we swing by and get my stuff?"

"We should be able to pick up a few boxes for your personal effects from Granny's, I'm sure she has some that would be suitable for your needs." The brunette stated.

"No need, everything is packed already." Emma blurted out.

"Oh, were you already planning to—" Regina's confusion was evident across her face.

"No," Emma looked embarrassed once again. "I never really unpacked."

"From over a year ago?" The words left the queen's lips before she could control her surprise. Regina's alcohol riddled brain pulled no punches.

"I did say Snow—" Emma tried to pass off her own insecurities about setting down roots, but she knew in her heart it wasn't her mother's fault.

"Enabled you? Coddled you? Did the woman never question your personal effects?" Regina seemed angry, but it was the default she had on hand whenever she was faced with complex human emotions.

"Honestly don't think she ever noticed. I mean she mentioned how few items I possessed when my stuff first arrived, but that was pre-curse, and well, after, it was never a topic we discussed." Emma said looking away from the brunette.

"How many boxes do you have, Emma?" The mayor looked concerned and Emma knew this was something that screamed her personal truth, and she wasn't nearly drunk enough to handle it with grace. "Probably five, mostly full, medium boxes." She answered quietly. Regina put her empty glass down and moved to sit right next to the blonde. "Promise me Emma, when we get your room set up the way you want it, with _your_ furniture, you will unpack your belongings and move in here?" Regina's hand had settled on Emma's thigh, it was meant to console, but it just made the cider inside burn bright within the savior. "I promise Regina." She gulped and whispered.

"Okay then. Tomorrow." She patted the spot where her palm had just been still, then stood to retire for the night.

"Better get some rest savior, tomorrow is going to be stressful I imagine." Regina swayed a bit before ascending the stairs to her bedroom.

Emma nodded once she was alone and picked up their used glasses, and returned the decanter back to its home. She went into the kitchen and washed the glasses and few dishes that had been from their shared salad dinner. She was lost in thought, so much had happened she either didn't understand or couldn't wrap her logical mind around. Regina's touch. It had sobered her. In an instant. She didn't think she could handle thinking about it, so she settled on something safer.

Emma heard the term the woman had used to describe the spare room. _Her room_. She was actually excited to go shopping the next day to buy stuff to fill it. She lay down in the bed and considered the items she would need. A desk was a good idea she thought, for her laptop, or whatever. Maybe a bookshelf? She had some pictures she had wanted to frame for some time. Why hadn't she? It wasn't just that there was one disaster after another and she didn't have time. She had no intention on leaving Storybrooke, her family was here. _Why was she so afraid to settle down?_

She thought back to the time when she was 12, to the family who wanted to keep her. The family where she felt like she belonged. They had real kids, kids that were biologically theirs, three of them. They wanted a daughter and they chose her. Out of all the kids at the home, they took her. She fit right into their little blonde family. She remembered the youngest boy, Aiden, had a birthday party at Chuckie Cheese, one of the servers commented to the father about how beautiful their family was. "Your daughter is going to be such a looker." The woman had said to him. He didn't correct her, as other fosters had in the past, he simply looked over at her eating her pizza happily and nodded, "She sure is." He said. It was the best year of her young life. They treated her like she was no different from their other children and she screwed it up bad. When they withdrew their adoption paperwork and she was sent back to the home, she knew in her young heart she would never have a home. She would never have a family.

While Emma contemplated her existence, Regina lay awake in her bedroom thinking about the conversation she had with the blonde. The woman said some strange things to the queen; those things got a strange reaction from her, from her _body_ specifically. She thought perhaps it was the mixture of their magic. She had noticed it back on Neverland, whenever their skin touched a tidal wave of warmth flooded her body settling down deep in her abdomen. She wasn't completely ignorant of the body's biological urges, she didn't have _much_ experience with them herself, but she had some, and she did read. She had been a virgin when she married the king, but she had kissed Daniel and she knew she held desire for him to touch her. Intimately. He hadn't the chance.

When the king took her it was painful. Every time. She never held the desire she had once upon a time and he had harmed her to the point of bleeding. It wasn't pleasant.

Graham had been her next lover, he hadn't harmed her the way the king had, but it wasn't exactly something she enjoyed doing. It was a biological appointment she held weekly, mostly out of habit and had only started it because she was bored and thought she ought to.

It actually came from a conversation she overheard in Granny's diner. The old woman was chastising Ruby for running around with every man she could and Red's answer to the accusation was "It's fun! It's what every normal red blooded American girl does nowadays Granny."

 _It is what normal women did._ So Regina took a lover. The easiest of all her captives to control, the man whose heart already belonged to her. To be fair Graham had been knowledgeable in the art of lovemaking but was stifled by Regina's control over him so their pairing was very much limited to her sparse knowledge. She had enjoyed kissing the man. Regina winced at the memory of Graham's beard. She loathed it and he often refused to keep a clean shaven face. "I wonder what it would be like to kiss Emma?" she thought to herself. This surprising idea shocked the queen as her body reacted to her imagination conjuring images of the blonde kissing her. This same reaction she had as Queen when she would think about her friend Mal, and being intimate with her.

Maleficent was the only other person other than Daniel who elicited desire from the queen but Mal was an ally, tentative ally at best. And a woman. As was Emma.

This certainly wasn't the first time Regina had thought about the blonde in a sexual way. Emma brought forth many emotions, most of which were conflicting.

'I think you are hot'

A shudder ran down Regina's spine and she pulled her blanket up closer to her chin even though she was obviously warm to the touch. She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. Her cider fueled brain wouldn't stop picturing her son's mother. Her intense green eyes watching her always. Her strong arms, her smile. The queen's body was on fire. She felt a steady throbbing at the apex of her core and squeezed her thighs together to relieve some of the pressure. She fought hard to control her thoughts and as she fought against her traitorous brain she found her hand had slipped down over her center. Over her panties, which were damp with desire. She pressed her fingers against her swollen mound, imagining her hand was the saviors. She let out a gasp as the euphoric feeling enveloped her entire body. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, it just felt so good to stroke herself. She rubbed the flat pads of her fingertips over her, quickening their action as she started to pant. Her eyes squeezed shut as she thought about how the blonde looked at her, how her lips would feel, how she would taste. Her strong hands exploring the queen's body, holding her athletic form against her— Just then the mayor's body went rigid, she lost all semblance of control and bright colors flooded her eyelids, she let out a yelp and then a low groan as her body started to calm itself. Her breathing was deep and her heart was pounding. Her entire body felt light and relaxed. As she drifted off to sleep she thought to herself, "I most certainly never had an orgasm, before now."


	5. Chapter 5

Regina awoke early as she normally did and was showered and dressed, downstairs making banana pancakes for her little family by the time the mother-son duo woke and trudged down to the kitchen. Emma looked like death warmed over and barely had her eyes open as she grumbled the word "Coffee." To the brunette who was all smiles. "Are you alright to do some shopping today dear?" the mayor asked. The blonde grunted then dug into the plate Regina had put in front of her. "Oh my god, these are… these are better than the first ones! What the hell do you put in these to make them taste so good?!"

Regina chuckled, "Mmmmmagic!" A twinkle sparkled in the dark brown eyes and she bit her bottom lip as she smiled.

Emma laughed despite herself, "Some one is chipper." now that she had some food and coffee she was starting to feel better herself.

Henry was watching his mothers with a suspicious eye. His adoptive mother was normally a morning person, but this morning she was positively glowing. The way she was looking at his birth mother was, not unsettling per say, but certainly out of the ordinary. The blonde was hung over, he could tell. It wasn't the first time he had seen her in this state, although it didn't happen often, it was usually when she was more upset than she could handle sober. This thought made the boy sad, he knew he'd contributed to her being upset and that he had been wrong in doing so. He knew it was wrong when his grandmother suggested it. His gut screamed out against it, but his desire to see his mother and father together won over his sense. It was selfish and he knew it. He picked at his pancakes as he watched his mom's discuss their plans for the day not really listening to what they were talking about. Emma was ordering a mattress online and Regina was discussing the finer points of pocket coil construction. He knew he was still in trouble, but the fact that both of his mother's seemingly had put the anger they held yesterday evening behind them made him feel better. He finished his pancakes and complemented his adoptive mother on them before clearing the plates and heading upstairs to get ready for school. He looked back, before heading up, towards his mother's as they hovered over the laptop screen, it was such an odd picture, but it also felt natural.

Regina insisted on driving during their shopping spree, of course, and they dropped off Henry for school before swinging by Snow and Charming's apartment to pick up Emma's possessions. Regina stood awkwardly in the main room, a foot or two from the door as if she were trespassing. Emma went up and down the stairs a few times and brought down her boxes. Regina offered to carry them out to the car, just happy to be out of the apartment. She was uneasy and didn't like it. It only took them three trips to load the few boxes and bags of clothes into Regina's spacious trunk. "Good, we won't have to stop home before going shopping." Emma said lightly. "Where to first?" she asked the brunette with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face.

"Well let's start with furniture. I know that Marco's shop has some really nice wooden headboards. I'm sure we can find something to your liking there." Regina said thoughtfully.

"Let's go see Geppetto!" Emma laughed at the absurdity of it.

Emma hung back while Regina discussed measurements to Marco. She picked out a beautifully carved dresser set and a small desk and matching book case that would fit nicely in the corner of her room. She avoided the man and only responded to him when he had spoken directly to her. Emma thought the man good-hearted enough, but she held disdain for him nonetheless. He put his kid into the same magical wardrobe as her parents did her. The resentment she held for her parents dripped off her interactions with the old man and did not go unnoticed by either him or the queen.

Once the order was placed and arrangements were made for delivery to coincide with the mattress order, the queen bid the old carpenter a good day and walked out behind her friend back to her car.

"You wanna talk about what that was about?" Regina asked her as she got behind the wheel.

"No." Emma grumbled.

"Alright." Regina replied and started the car.

"That's it?" the blonde was shocked.

"You said no!" Regina defended.

"Yeah, but Snow always pushes me to talk." Emma said questioningly.

"Miss Swan you did not just compare me with that insufferable woman?" Regina had yet to pull out of the parking spot and looked properly cross.

"No. Well, maybe, but I didn't mean to." Emma looked contrite.

"Look Emma, if you wanted to talk about it I assume you would. You are aware my offer of listening to you has no expiry date, if and when you decide you want to discuss your obvious problem with a little old man with a puppet fetish I assume you'll inform me." She said and put the car into reverse and pulled out of the spot. "Thanks Regina." Emma said quietly.

"Now let's go pick out bedding!" The queen's face was priceless, clearly this was her favorite part of the trip. "What kind of comforter would you like?"

"What kind is on your bed?" Emma asked noticing the odd look the mayor had at the question. She answered the obvious question the brunette had not spoken, "The first night I slept over, I put the pjs you loaned me back in your room." Regina gave her a side glance at the information. Her look was unreadable so Emma defaulted to thinking she had upset the woman. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to invade your space, I just didn't think about it till I was already in there." She looked dreadfully embarrassed and a little afraid.

"It is quite alright dear; I didn't think you used magic to return my belongings. I knew you had been there. I just forgot I suppose." Regina noticed the look of fear on the blonde's face and made a mental note of it.

"You're not mad?" Emma asked surprised.

"I'm quite used to you making yourself at home in my life Miss Swan." She flashed a teasing smile at the blonde. Emma rolled her eyes.

"So what is your comforter?" Emma asked.

"It is a duvet. Goose down. It's positively glorious!" She raved.

They picked out sheets for the blonde's bed, everything was a hint of green or yellow. A few pillows with matching throws and curtains for her window. Regina sat back and let Emma choose every detail, only guiding her when the blonde looked lost and needed help. They had a wonderful afternoon.

Emma swung by the manor to drop off Regina and her loot before going to go retrieve their son from school. She also needed to tell her mother she was moving. Well, that she had moved.

Regina had respected her space and asked what she wanted for dinner. "Your choice savior it's your day." She smiled.

"How about Granny's? You shouldn't have to cook tonight." Regina knew the blonde was being gracious, even though the idea of Granny's frozen entrees made her stomach flip she smiled just the same. "Thank you Emma. If Granny's is what you want, that is what you will have." She put her hand on the blonde's arm and looked into her eyes. "I also don't mind cooking for you and Henry." She felt the familiar warmth and flutter as their bare skin touched; it was starting to be comforting instead of off putting as it had when she first noticed it in Neverland.

"Okay," Emma nodded. "But not tonight. I don't know how long this will take. I'll get Henry, have the talk and come home." She smiled wide as her mouth formed the word home. She thought she saw Regina's eyes sparkle with emotion before the mayor patted her arm and turned away from her. "Good luck with your mom." She turned and walked back towards the kitchen. "Regina?"

"Yes Emma?"

"Thanks for today. That was really kind of fun."

"It was, wasn't it?" She crinkled her nose a bit as she smiled. "Have fun!" She chided knowing full well the next little bit of the savior's life would be everything, _but_ fun.

Emma was a little late picking up Henry and he was standing out front with his grandmother. He looked miserable and she was visibly angry. Snow couldn't contain herself as Emma barely got out of the car before her mother blew up. "You let Regina ground him?" She shrieked.

Ignoring her mother she looked at Henry. "Get in the car kid." He quickly complied needing to get away from the tension between the two women. Emma turned her mother around so Henry couldn't see the outpour of emotion from Snow's face, only Emma's controlled expression. "Regina and I grounded him." She answered the accusation.

"Why?" She bellowed "It isn't fair!"

"Why? Because he lied and manipulated and snuck around." Emma snapped back at her.

"Oh he did no such thing!" The brunette exasperated. "Regina is being unreasonable."

"He did, and what isn't fair is that he did those things at the direction of his grandmother!" Emma accused.

"We weren't manipulating you Emma… I was just…"

"No." Emma bit back tears. "No. You used my son to go behind my back. That is not acceptable."

"Is she making you say this?" Snow questioned.

"How can you be so obtuse?" Emma demanded.

Snow shook her head and started to defend her actions. Emma held up her hand silencing the woman. At the time she hadn't realized she had done so magically, and continued her prepared speech without looking up at her mother's face.

"I've moved out. I can't live under your roof while you insist on lying and plotting and teaching my kid that behavior is okay. It isn't. I'm renting," she lied, "a room from Regina until I can find a place for Henry and me to live." She stopped speaking and looked up quickly realizing the brunette couldn't physically talk. Panic set in to the blonde. "Mom?" Snow pointed to her throat.

"Oh!" She waved her hand and Snow was able to clear her throat and speak once more.

"I'm sorry mom I didn't mean that. I'm still learning to control this—"

"Emma! I'm sorry! Please don't leave! I didn't mean anything I just want you to be happy!" Snow White's green eyes looked hopeful at the thought of her daughter's wedding to her true love.

"No Snow, you want your princess daughter to have some fairy tale wedding and you're willing to manipulate your grandson, and hijack Regina by the way, in order to do it." The anger Emma felt poured into every word that left her mouth. Snow tried to calm the blonde, "Just come home and we'll talk about this with your father." Emma shook her head. "At least let me help you find a home for you and Henry, I'll help you move sweetheart, into your own place."

"It is too late. I've already moved my stuff. I need some space Snow and you need to think about what you've done." She handed back Snow's keys to her apartment.

She almost felt like she's breaking up with the woman. Snow looked at the key ring in her hand stunned by what her daughter has just said to her. Emma turned and walked back to her car and drove her and her son home.

Henry entered the manor first; he was shocked by all the packages in the foyer. His mother came down from upstairs with a smile; rubbing lotion on the backs of her hands as she descended the staircase.

"What's all this?" He questioned his mother.

"Your mother's room decorations." He looked at her with an odd expression, then recognition settled over his features. "Emma is living here now too?" His eyes showed confusion but his voice could not mask the pure joy. "She didn't tell you?" His mother asked suddenly worried about how the talk with Snow White had gone. Perhaps the woman had changed the blonde's mind. She was more upset about the prospect of that than she would care to admit.

He shook his head. Regina reached the bottom of the stairs. "Where is she?"

"Outside still I guess. She and Grandma had a fight in front of my school."

"Yes I imagine they did." She said, her normal jovial tone towards Snow White's misfortune was absent. Replaced only by concern for Henry's birth mother. This change did not go unnoticed. "Henry, would you be so kind as to bring this stuff up to Emma's room for her? Then start your homework. We will be going out to Granny's for dinner tonight." His excitement exuded from every pore as he grabbed the first packages and bounded up the stairs.

The mayor opened the front door and looked out towards where the blonde was leaning against her Mercedes. She sauntered over to the savior and leaned against the bumper.

"Don't scratch my baby, you couldn't afford it." She drawled. The blonde chuckled. "No really, I set your wage, trust me." The brunette kidded.

"I'll do my best your majesty." Emma lifted her hand and mock bowed towards the queen. Regina snorted her retort then both women were silent. Emma sniffed her nose pulling in her emotions, but Regina didn't say anything. She didn't ask. She didn't prod or goad she was just there, for when Emma found her words. She was there to listen.

'God that feels awesome.' Emma thought silently.

"Marco put August in the same wardrobe Snow and Charming put me." Emma blurted out. "He thought it was acceptable to put a 6 year old in charge of a newborn, and send us to who knows where, for who knows how long, unsupervised. If the wardrobe could hold two, why wasn't the second person one of my parents? Or at least an adult?"

Regina nodded. "So you are angry with him?"

"He isn't one of my favorite guys, no." Emma answered her tone filled with contempt.

"I can't say why they chose August instead of an adult, but I'd venture a guess he didn't want his child to return to his original wooden form." Regina said smartly.

Emma nodded. "I can't forgive him."

"No one said you had to." Regina said.

They sat for a few moments, quietly contemplating. Emma had considered Regina's argument to be valid, even though she still wasn't pleased with the end result. She was still quite angry with how she paid the price for being the savior. "She doesn't think she did anything wrong." Emma started to talk about the argument.

"No, she never does." The brunette replied.

"How can she be so..." Emma paused searching for the right word.

"Arrogant? Pompous? Self-righteous? Annoying?" Regina gladly helped.

"Yeah!" Emma answered with a light laugh at Regina's choice words.

"I don't know. Her father spoiled her. He taught her to see the world in black and white. She was good. How could good be wrong?"

"Yeah, but she murdered your mother." Emma said.

"She saved her family from a great evil. An evil, mind you, that murdered her own mother and bore the evil queen who ruined her life." Regina retorted.

"She didn't just murder Cora, she manipulated you into doing it for her. No matter the intentions, Regina, that was wrong." Emma said quietly.

"I don't disagree with you. However, she will." Regina sighed.

"I don't get it." Emma looked down shaking her head.

"You may never. And that's okay. I've known her a long time and although I may understand her nativity may not be of her own doing, I still get angry at her choices." She smiled coolly, "I still want to throttle her until she understands logic."

Emma laughed. "I accidently took her voice when we were talking." She looked sheepish, "You know, magically."

Regina's eyes bulged with surprise. "It is probably the only way you got your say dear." She laughed at her own joke. Emma joined her and shook her head.

"Is Henry okay?" she asked, "I was too upset to talk on the ride home. He was in the car while I spoke with Snow and I don't think he heard the conversation, although I know he knew we were arguing."

"Yeah he is okay, he is concerned about you though. You didn't tell him you moved. He was pretty happy when I told him." She smiled brightly, her own joy on the subject written across her face.

"No I was too upset after Snows... Outburst." Emma said.

"Let me guess, she blamed me?" Regina rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Emma looked at the brunette, her brow crinkled and her eyes shown true remorse.

"Don't be, it's old hat. I am the Evil Queen don't you know?" She laughed maniacally.

"Don't." Emma stood upright and faced her.

"What?" The brunette was confused at her friends actions.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"You're not evil Regina." Emma reached out and put her hand on the womans shoulder.

"I know that."

"Do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know if you say something often enough, or hear something often enough, even something you tell yourself is a joke, you start to believe it. I won't have you believe that any longer." Emma paused to let that sink into the brunette before continuing. "You've changed. I believe in you. Henry believes in you. Start believing in yourself." The queen was silent as she processed this. They sat together a long while, neither woman having the courage to break the silence. Finally Regina had formulated her thoughts into what she wanted to say, but ended up just nodding meaningfully at the blonde, too afraid of opening up to the blonde.

"Want to help me move some furniture while Henry is finishing his homework?" Emma asked as she flexed her muscles. At the sight of the blonde's sculpted arms, Regina felt that pull of desire once more and was speechless. A simple nod answered the blonde's question and she followed the woman in tandem back into the house.

After moving the dressers the blonde stood in the middle of the room looking at the small twin sized bed. "I can always break down the frame and put the mattress on the floor for the night. It is only one night. My stuff will get here tomorrow."

"We can move it into the other room, you can always stay in my room…" Regina offered. She paused realizing what she had just said and blushed. She couldn't take it back now. "It is just one night." She added casually. The blonde had heard the offer, but froze her entire body willing it not to react. Could she sleep next to this woman?

"It _is_ only one night." She agreed, her voice strained as she wrestled it under control. The decision was made and they went about breaking down the bed for storage.

Once all the furniture was removed they stood in the middle of the room once again and Regina asked, "What color do you want it to be?" Emma looked at her with surprise, "I couldn't paint your house Regina."

"You are not painting my house, Emma, you are painting your bedroom. This blue simply doesn't match your color scheme." Motioning towards the throw pillows that were bagged up in the corner.

"I don't know. I like green." Regina smiled wide. She waved her hands above her head and the walls of Emma's bedroom were suddenly covered in a light pale green. It suited the blonde perfectly. Emma was startled into a surprised laugh as she looked around. "Will this do your highness?" Regina kidded.

Emma nodded in wonder at the woman. "You are going to _have_ to teach me to do that." She said.

"Glamour magic is tricky, but once you get the hang of it, there is much you can achieve." Regina said plainly. "That's the magic you learned from Maleficent?" Emma asked. Regina nodded. "She is well versed, I truly learned at the foot of the master." She said quietly.

Henry finished up his math homework and went out into the hall. He heard his mother's talking in Emma's room. He knocked before he poked his head in, looking around in amazement at the emptied room. He came up behind Emma and put his arms around his mother. "I'm so happy you are going to be here, I was missing seeing you." Emma laughed. "I've slept over twice and have been here every day!"

"Yeah, but now, now you are home." He crushed back into her. She looked up at Regina who put a comforting hand on the blonde's back. A light touch that expressed her own sentiment, in agreement with their son. Emma held the boy and felt the emotion rush over her. "Ready to go eat?" she asked everyone. The boy left her arms and pumped his hands in the air and chanted, "Granny's Granny's Granny's!" Regina shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You both are required to order something that has been grown, preferably green in addition to whatever greasy slop you order." She called after them.

Mother and son both answered the queen in unison, "Yes MOM!" and all three laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

The family entered Granny's, it was Thursday evening and several other families had their own family traditions of weekly dinners at the popular town diner. The place was moderately busy as a result. Henry rushed in and took a seat at one of the few free booths at the back of the dining room. He gestured to his adoptive mother to sit next to him, she complied joyfully. Emma smiled at how her son had changed regarding his attitude toward his adoptive mother, she was pleased they were getting along so well.

Ruby walked over to their table, she was visibly curt and down to business. Not her normal jovial warm self. "What can I get for you?" She directed the question towards the mayor. Emma rolled her eyes.

"A round of cokes for all of us, I think," she looked at each Henry and Emma who both nod their agreement. "I need a few moments to look at the menu dear." She said to the waitress in her sickly sweet, all too nice politician voice. Ruby wrote down the drink order and rolled her eyes. "Three cokes coming up."

"What's wrong with Ruby mom?" Henry asked quietly to his blonde mother.

"I'm certain your grandmother has told her I've kidnapped your mother and is forcibly keeping her at the manor." Regina answered for the blonde with a chuckle.

"It's okay kid. Gran is just upset with me right now, and Rubes is her bff, it is practically in her job description to be on Snow's side." Emma said looking over the menu even though she knew what she was getting. Regina patted the boy's hand to reassure him it would be fine. "Would you prefer I request a new waitress?" She directed the question to the blonde. "No, but thanks. Rubes probably didn't get the whole story." Emma said, trying to reassure herself as much as the queen.

"Have you found anything good?" She asked Regina, but before the mayor could answer her the door slammed open and Snow White stormed into the diner, a bow drawn, David ran futilely behind her. The pixie haired woman stopped in the center of the room, several feet away from her nemesis, the Evil Queen, the drawn arrow pointed right at her black heart. Regina saw Snow first, and Emma notices Regina's reaction and whipped around. "Mom!" Henry yelled and cowered into his adoptive mother, who pushed herself in front of him instinctively.

"You turned my daughter against us!" Snow yelled into the suddenly pin drop quiet diner.

"Your childish mind games drove her away! I just gave her a place she could be who she is!" The queen rebutted. The anger in her eyes turning the normal onyx a purple hue. Emma stood putting herself between her mother and Regina shocking both brunettes.

"She's right!" She said to Snow. "My decision to move out was _your_ fault not Regina's."

"No." the pixie haired woman shook her head. "She put you under a spell or something."

Regina sneered, "Why does everyone jump to magic immediately?" Granny scoffed in the corner, "Says the Evil Queen?"

"Oh right." She waved her hand and all the arrows Snow had, including the one loaded in the bow disappeared. Snow pulled out her sword, holding it up shakily. "I will not let you take my daughter again Regina!"

Henry squeezed his arms around his adoptive mother more tightly. She could feel his little body tremble with fear and she put her arms around him, kissing him on the head and soothed the boy with her whispers.

"I moved out because you used my son to try and manipulate me Snow!" She could see the confusion in Ruby's face as she stood behind the Charming's gaping wide eyed.

"I didn't manipulate you Emma!"

"YOU DID!" Emma boomed.

"I was just trying to show you what it could be like to be a family."

"I know what it is like to be a family! You are holding a weapon to them right now and scaring my son!" The greens of Emma's eyes start to pale as white clouds of magic fill them.

"But she…"

"No!" Emma shakes her head. "You!" She shouted. "You did this. Just like YOU put me in a wardrobe when I was a baby! Regina didn't do that! Take some responsibility for your actions Snow." The brunette broke down into loud sobs. Emma saw the apologetic look in David's eyes and she spoke directly to him. "Take her out of here David, now." He put his arm around his sobbing wife and escorted her out.

Emma turned back to Regina who was holding their son's crown against her cheek, running her fingers through his hair and whispering soothing things to him.

"Are you two ok?" Henry nodded as did Regina. "I'm sorry. I knew when I left her this afternoon she was upset. I should have stayed and dealt with it then instead of running. It seems like I can't do anything right."

Regina took the woman's hand and said, "This isn't your mistake. It's Snows." She stroked her son's hair once more as he asked if they can go home. She looked up at Emma who nodded. "How about some Kraft Dinner?" the blonde offered and smiled despite her turmoil. "Or chicken salad sandwiches?" The brunette rebutted.

Emma walked over to Granny and handed her a 20 dollar bill, more for the trouble than to pay for the drinks. "We'll be cancelling our order." The old woman nodded and took the gesture the blonde handed her. Ruby looked sheepish, "She manipulated Henry?" the brunette asked.

"Oh NOW you care to ask questions Ruby?" She was angry at the entire situation and took it out on the young wolf.

"I didn't know, she said you said some horrible things and—" the girl tried to defend herself.

"I told her the truth." The blonde growled. "Seems as though Snow White can't handle the truth!"

"Sometimes she just sees what she wants to see. She also has a blind spot when it comes to the Evil Queen." The wolf agreed.

"Jesus fuck! STOP calling her that! She has been the only one who has been there for me! The only one who has had MY back! Made me feel like I had a HOME, not just a place to crash!" she saw the confusion in the woman's green eyes, "I know you are Snow's best friend, but I thought we were friends too, you didn't even bother to ask for my side of the story Rubes." Tears prickled in the back of Emma's eyes. "Didn't even call or text to see if—" her voice cracked with emotion. She felt a warm hand on her back and saw compassion in the eyes of her son's mother when she looked back. The soft deep timber of the woman enveloped her, "Let's go home dear." Emma nodded in agreement, put her arm around her son and walked away from Snow White's best friend.

Regina made quick work of whipping up a suitable dinner for her family. They were able to sit down and eat within a half hour of returning home. After which Regina had some work to finish up, notes to type up for the next day, the council meeting regarding Dwarven rights, and Emma and Henry went into the playroom and battled for Mario Kart supremacy.

"Do you hate Snow White now?" the boy asked after pitifully losing to his birth mother for the second time that night. The boy's heart wasn't in it and Emma knew he had questions about what had happened. "No, Henry, I don't hate her. I'm just not happy with the decisions she has made recently."

"I mean do you hate her for giving you up?" he clarified his question. "Oh." She put her controller down on the coffee table and sat back to think about how to answer her son. "No. I mean, I'm an adult, and I now understand why they did what they did, but as a child, I didn't have anyone. I was in a lot of pain for a long time, and I blame them for that pain." She said trying to explain to him complex emotions she, herself didn't fully comprehend. "Even as an adult, Henry, I may understand, but they still traded their daughter away to save their kingdom."

"You're the savior." Henry defended.

"I was their child." She rebutted. "Regina, your mom, would burn a thousand worlds to keep you safe, to keep you with her."

"Yeah, but that's because she's the—" he started.

"No," she interrupted him before he could say the words, "I would be right next to her handing her matches kid. She, WE, love you SO much. I would never sacrifice you, not ever." She made sure to look him in the eye as she enunciated the word 'ever' to him. "That is what it is to be a parent. Snow and Charming were never my parents. They were a Prince and Princess, sacrificing their daughter for the good of the land. I will never really understand it, nor will I ever forgive them." She looked down and away from him, "But I don't hate her."

"She didn't listen to you about my dad either though, right? I heard you tell her, that day in the kitchen. Why didn't she listen?" He was confused. "Well," she thought about how to put it into terms he could understand. "Remember that same day, you and I talked about what I did and didn't feel for Neal?" he nodded. "But yet when Gran said she wanted help getting us together, you still went along with it." His chin quivered threatening to yet again apologize, "It was because you really REALLY wanted us together, right?" he nodded adding, "She made sense too Mom."

"I'm sure it felt like it at the time. Gran is good at making people see her point of view son, she was a princess, which is little more than a politician in this realm."

He looked guilty as he spoke next, "I knew she was wrong, it felt like we were doing something bad, and I knew it, and I did it anyway. I'm sorry Mom." Thick juicy tears crest his eyelids just before he covered his face with his hands in shame. "That is because your Mom raised you right. You're a good boy Henry. The best. Both your mom and I are so very proud of you." She pulled him into a hug and let him cry out his guilt into her shoulder.

Unseen in the dark kitchen the queen stood holding the glass of water she had gone in there to get, listening to the mother and son talk on the couch. Tears of her own welling up at the blonde's admissions. 'She thinks I raised him right.' She swallowed hard, and knew the blonde would be right next to her burning every world down with her for their son, just as she said. In that moment, she felt an overwhelming love for Emma Swan. The woman who gave her Henry. The woman who was turning her house, into a home. She silently retreated back into her office, careful to not disturb mother and son.

"David! You saw her! That isn't our daughter! Regina has done something to her I can FEEL IT!" the woman was inconsolable and David Nolan did his best to keep his calming placating voice steady. "Snow, she is angry, you need to give her space." He said quietly.

"She is only angry because of the Evil Queen!" she shouted and threw a glass across the room. It shattered and startled the man. This was not like his wife at all. She was sometimes headstrong, okay, most times headstrong, but never irrational. He watched her pace in the kitchen, one hand on her hip the other tugging her bottom lip, thinking only partially aloud.

"We need to get her away from the manor. We need to get HENRY away from Regina! There has to be away! David? We need to take them back to the Enchanted Forest!" She started formulating a plan in her head, that was certainly the right thing, she was good, Regina was evil, Emma would understand once they got her away from that woman.

"Emma has said she didn't want to go back home Snow, remember?" he tried to remind her of the conversation they had with their daughter when David first drew up plans to get people who wanted to go back, a way to do so. "Henry wanted to go!" she argued, "Emma will follow Henry!" she started pacing again. David chuckled, "What and we just kidnap her son and hope she follows?"

"She WILL follow David! Don't be stupid! She loves Henry!" the woman snapped at him.

"Excuse me?" he looked half as offended as he felt. No, this wasn't HIS wife at all. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He was confused and was getting angry.

"Nothing is wrong with ME, David, it is EMMA and what that witch did to my little girl!" she yelled back at him as if he were the dumbest thing on the planet.

"Snow, you are talking about kidnapping our grandson from not only our own daughter, but the Evil Queen, both of which have magic. How do you really see that playing out?"

She stopped pacing and walked up to him, getting right in his face, "Look Charming," she spat his name distastefully, "You worry about the dwarves, I'll worry about MY daughter!" she shoved past him and stormed back into her room.

He murmured sadly into the empty room, "Our daughter." He sat on a stool in the quiet room, his mind reeling from the conversation he just had with his wife, and the confrontation they had earlier with his daughter. Was Emma right? Did Snow use Henry to manipulate her? If it were the woman he met so long ago he would stand and fight to the death to defend his wife against such an accusation, but after the last few days, he wasn't so sure. He needed to think on this. Something was clearly off about the woman, he just didn't know what it was. His first instinct was Regina had done something, but deep down inside, he knew the witch had changed. She wasn't the Evil Queen any more. His daughter was no fool, she trusted the woman, with Henry, with their lives. Thus far, Regina had come through for them. Sacrificing herself time and time again for his family. He needed to consider who would have a motive for this. What is their angle? A quiet thought bubbled up through all the uncertainty, 'What if it was just Snow?' He shook the thought away, no. Someone was doing this. He needed help.


	7. Chapter 7

Emma had dug through her bag and pulled out a cotton tee shirt she used for sleeping and a fresh pair of boy shorts. She had taken a shower after her talk with her son, he was in his room writing in his journal. He refused to call it a diary, "A diary is for teenage girls mom." He had said when she first mentioned it to him. She dressed herself in her sleep wear and sat down on the carpet of her bedroom. She went through one of the many bags she got while shopping with Regina that afternoon and took out a frame she purchased. It was a dark mahogany wood, lightly varnished. The crest at the top was a tree, it reminded her of Regina's family crest, although not quite exact. She opened one of the boxes looking through it quickly, she had to open several before she found the box she was looking for. The one where she kept a picture of Henry and Regina and her at Granny's, sitting in a booth. It was a candid shot that was taken after they had returned from Neverland. Both women were smiling, looking at their son and the boy was smiling brightly towards the camera. Ruby had taken it and she printed it out immediately. When Rubes texted it to her she put 'the happy family returns' as it's caption. That was exactly what they looked like, a family. She knew Regina would like it, and chose the frame specifically for the woman.

They had been through so much on that damn island, and as many mistakes Emma thought she made, what she said to Regina was true. The one good thing that came out of it all, aside from their son's safe return, was her friendship with the queen.

She unclasped the back of the frame and fit the picture into it without problem, refastened the back and turned it around. She touched the glass that covered the picture, lovingly with her fingertips. Her heart was bursting with emotion. Complex emotions, she wasn't sure what to do with or how to handle. She felt very fortunate, the most fortunate she had ever felt in her entire life. The woman who raised her son, raised him better than Emma knew she, herself, ever could have. She was amazingly complex, loving and compassionate, with a fire that blazed inside of her for the people she cared about. She envied her, she marveled at her, she loved her.

 _She loved her?_

She thought about that statement that felt so natural to think. _She did. She loved Regina_. She started to panic a little as she looked at the picture frame, 'What did that mean?' she thought. Her mind reeled at all the ways she would end up messing up the home she now had, with the family she so desperately wanted.

'She wasn't even sure you two were FRIENDS Swan.' Her brain reminded her of their park conversation. 'She tolerates you, at best. You are her kid's birth mother and the daughter of her life long enemy. Get a grip.' She gripped the frame in her hand and looked at it sadly knowing co-parenting would be the extent of their relationship. As long as she didn't manage to screw it up.

The little taunting voice inside of her spoke up at that moment, "You will. You always do."

A soft knock startled the blonde and she put away the frame she had been looking at in one of the open boxes she had nearest her. "Mom?" Henry's voice called quietly. "Are you okay?" He was concerned when he heard his blonde mother sniffle just before he knocked. He gave her a moment to swipe away the stray tear that had escaped down her cheek. She composed herself and pulled her lips tight in an almost smile. "Yeah kid, time for bed?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to say good night." He knelt down next to her and pulled her into his chest. The heart of the truest believer beating steadily within. He kissed the blonde crown of her head and whispered, "Good night mom." She wrapped her arm around his midsection and stopped him from breaking the embrace, holding on to him as if it were the last time. He relented and hugged her back, uncertain the reason for his mother's action, but knowing she needed him in that moment. So he stayed.

Regina came down the hall towards the savior's room and started talking to her as she opened the door that was cracked a peek, "Emma are you—" she stopped mid stride as she walked in on an obvious moment between mother and son, she quickly apologized for not knocking and backed out of the room. She silently chastised herself, remembering the conversation the blonde had with her the other night, the two were not doing, THAT, but still, it was a moment and she felt she intruded.

"No, it's okay Regina." Emma called out to the older woman. She patted her son's arm and whispered "I love you kid." She stood with him as they went out into the hall after Regina.

"I'm sorry." The brunette turned around as mother and son filed out into the hall. "I should have knocked."

"It's okay." The blonde repeated as she caught up to the queen. She rubbed her hand on Regina's forearm to punctuate the sentiment. "I was just saying good night to Ma, Mom." He hugged his brunette mother and leaned into her, resting his head against her chest. "Good night Henry." She said.

"I love the way my name sounds in your chest." He said absently. "It reminds me of when I was a little boy and I would sit on your lap while you would have coffee with Mrs. Nolan. I would put my head against your chest when you talked to her, it was very soothing." He explained. His adoptive mother was struck silent by the admission. "Well, good night!" he said as he pulled away and slipped into his room. The silent tear that leaked from the brunette's dark eyes lost on the teen, having no idea how deeply he had touched his adoptive mother.

"He loves you so much." Emma said. She reached out for the mayor who looked like she needed to be held, but refrained from doing more than touching the woman on the arm.

"It wasn't all bad." The woman finally said, "His childhood." Regina clarified.

"It wasn't bad at all." Emma corrected. "He realizes that you know." She persuaded the queen.

"I didn't, no." Regina said honestly. "I suppose now, I do."

"Is it cider time?" Emma asked hopefully. Regina looked fearful at the suggestion before she put her mask up. "You may indulge sheriff, but I will be refraining this evening. I have an early meeting to attend tomorrow, and I need my wits about me."

 _'I don't quite trust my drunken self with you half naked in my bed this evening Miss Swan.'_ Her mind finished silently as her eyes took in the blonde's chosen sleeping attire.

She smiled diplomatically as the savior furrowed her brow and frowned deeply. "Seriously? Not even after tonight?"

"By all means dear, I will keep you company if you prefer, but tomorrow is proposition 37, it needs to be shut down, and the Blue Mosquito has a puppet on the council I need to be all hands on deck."

"No, you don't have to." Emma looked disappointed, she couldn't help it, she was. She had enjoyed their little talks. Regina was much easier to talk to with a little liquid courage.

"Of course I don't." Regina picked up the uneasiness of the blonde immediately, paired with finding her crying in her son's arms a few moments ago, she realized that perhaps the blonde needed to talk and could only do so as a drinking buddy. "I don't _have_ _to_ do anything. I choose to, Emma." The sentiment brought an honest smile and relief to the blonde's face.

"I'll be down in a moment, I need to shower and get ready for bed." Regina's look was unreadable to the blonde, and then she turned and walked into her room. "Help yourself to whatever you like." She said over her shoulder as she walked into her bedroom pulling up the tucked in portion of her shirt as she walked towards the in suite bathroom.

' _Whatever_ I like?' Emma thought to herself. She shook her head trying to dislodge the idea before it took root in her self-destructive brain. 'Bad Swan!' she scolded herself as she walked down the staircase and into the study.

She took out a clean crystal tumbler and filled the glass part way. Just enough to take the edge off, she didn't want to get drunk. Not tonight. Not after everything that had happened. Especially, not when she was going to be sleeping next to Regina. She didn't trust herself not to want to touch the woman. Hell, she wanted to touch the woman now, stone sober. Adding booze would only reduce the self-control she currently enjoyed.

"Okay seriously? You need to stop Swan." She mumbled to herself. She couldn't fuck this up, for one super important, very permanent reason. Henry. 'You try something with Regina, it goes horribly wrong, because well, it's you, and the only one who gets hurt is the kid. You've lived here a grand total of one night, ONE SWAN! Stop looking for ways to mess this up! She is NOT interested, and you SHOULDN'T be! Get a grip.' She chastised herself thoroughly.

She took in a deep breath and let it go slowly. She lifted her glass to her lips, making herself a promise to not royally bone her own chances at having a peaceful existence with her son and his mother.

The asshole that lives quietly in the back of her brain chirped in when he heard her promise to herself, 'But if she is… interested… it could be so right…'

She rolled her eyes at the asshole voice in her head; that is the guy that fucks up her life. She made a conscious decision to ignore him. She finished her glass and headed back upstairs. She knocked on Regina's bedroom door and got no answer. She peeked in and saw that the bathroom door was still closed. She took the opportunity to slip into the side of the bed furthest from the bathroom, not knowing which side the queen slept on, if she even had a side. She pulled the sheets up over her bare legs, the satiny feel of them felt like cool water over her skin. It felt more luxurious than anything she had ever felt. It was as if the woman had made sheets out of her pajamas, but silkier. She was sitting up in bed and took the corner of the dark gray sheet and ran the tip over the bottom part of her bottom lip, where her lip jettisons out from her chin. It was a habit she had taken to in early childhood, it soothed her in a new place, but never had it felt like this, these sheets were amazing. She was going to have to get a pair of these sheets for her own room. The light dandelion colored ones she got were high thread count cotton. Regina had insisted she get no less than 400 threads, whatever that was. Whatever it was, she was glad she listened because obviously the queen knew a thing or two about linens.

She had her eyes closed, rubbing the corner of the sheet against her chin when the bathroom door opened. Regina was in a set of towels, one wrapped around her body, the other wrapped around her head. She was startled to see the blonde in her bed, but then cocked her head to the side curious at what exactly she was doing in her bed. Emma obviously hadn't heard her come out of the bathroom and she wasn't sure if she wanted to interrupt the girl or not. She wasn't sure what she was doing and she would most certainly startle her. She walked over to her wardrobe and took out a pair of her pajamas then turned to walk back into the bathroom to change. At that point the blonde had come back from wherever her day dream had taken her and she opened her eyes to a very wet and almost naked Regina creeping back into the bathroom.

"I'm sorry!" the girl exclaimed, and ducked her head under the covers to hide her face, but mostly her eyes, however it was too late the image had already seared itself into her brain, her asshole voice was pleased with the sudden new view. The rest of her however was mortified.

"It's fine Emma. We are both women. I just forgot to bring PJs with me into the bathroom." Emma poked her head out from under the cover just as Regina closed the door. 'Damn it Swan!' she cursed herself.

Regina had been thinking about the blonde while she was in the shower, the woman was wearing barely a tee shirt, it came down several inches short of the top of her boy shorts and the muscles of her abdomen were prominent and impressive. She was still soft like a woman, had the curves like a woman, but the mayor was certain had she the opportunity to slide her fingertips over the girls navel, she would feel the strength of her six pack. Regina's body was once again on fire as it had been last night, while she was alone in her bed. Tonight she would not be alone. 'Damn why did she offer to break down the spare room bed? It took them 10 minutes and could have been done in the morning.' She questioned herself, and her sanity as she rubbed her soapy hands over her own body. She suddenly remembered the old adage, 'Take a cold shower' for men to control their urges. She instantly turned off the heat and let the icy cold water put out the fire. It seemed to be working, however now she was shivering. She stood under the cold water for an extra 5 minutes, just to make sure her body didn't defy her will, then turned the water off and got out.

Seeing the blonde in her bed had surprised her, she assumed she was down stairs drinking her crazed mother away. She put her pajamas on and proceeded to lotion her face. Once she was done, she removed the towel from her hair and flipped her head over, towel drying her black strands. She flipped her head back up and then ran a comb through the cool wet tendrils, smoothing them back over her scalp.

She hung up her towels to dry and went back into the bedroom to a very awkward looking sheriff. "I'm sorry Regina. I just figured if you weren't… partaking, I'd just have a shot and we could go to bed. You said the meeting tomorrow was early, and I didn't want to keep you up." the sheriff explained.

Regina was pumping out body lotion into her palms and looked back at the blonde. "That is considerate of you Emma, but unnecessary. We can certainly go to sleep if you like, unless you would like to talk?" Emma looked relieved the mayor wasn't angry or embarrassed at being caught so very compromised.

God that woman has amazing legs.

'Jesus Swan!' Emma squeezed her eyes shut screaming at her asshole voice to shut up. She thought to herself perhaps adding alcohol was a bad idea. 'Too late.' She reminded herself.

"Are you alright Emma?" the queen looked concerned. She lifted the sheets on her side of the bed and slipped in between them. "Yeah. I'm just…" she shook her head slightly and looked for a way to explain the problem without sounding like a crazy person.

"Having problems quieting the inner monologue?" the brunette asked with a smirk.

"Exactly!" Emma was quite thankful the mayor knew exactly the problem, she was not, however, surprised. Regina situated herself and sunk lower into the bed, turning onto her side and bunched up her pillow under her head. "The thing with Snow will pass you know. I have faith that her seemingly boundless ineptitude will indeed have an end." She looked at the blonde with caring, compassionate eyes. She put her hand over top of Emma's, on top of the comforter, "Have faith Savior." She smiled brightly. Emma laughed, not 100% sure if the queen was kidding, or not, but she was funny. The fact that she basically called her mother a failure at life, with compassion and comfort in the tone of her voice, seemed absurd and Emma couldn't help herself.

She shook her head at the pure lunacy of her situation with her mother and sighed deeply. "What is it?" the brunette asked, she took her hand back from the savior's, that rush of their skin touching was starting to wear off her cold shower. Her body shivered, still thawing out a little as her heart pounded loudly, pumping blood to her extremities.

"I don't think I drank enough." The blonde mumbled hoping it was under her breath, but the raised eyebrow told her definitively she was heard loud and clear. "Well dear, you can't drink all your problems away." Regina said with a smirk.

"No, but I can try." Emma rebutted.

"Yes, but ask Leroy how well that works out." Regina's mention of the town drunk was not lost on the blonde. The man drank heavily pre-curse, that quantity tripled post-curse.

"So you are really going to help them?" Emma asked, trying to take the spotlight off her own deficiencies, her issues with her mother and her thoughts on the sexy queen lying next to her. "The dwarves? Yes, I think I have to try." The brunette slipped into diplomatic mayor mode flawlessly. She lay on the pillow facing Emma talking about their plight and what she could do to make it easier on them. "As our son would say, 'It's what a hero would do.'" Both women laughed.

"That is totally what he would say." Emma agreed. "I'm proud that you are taking a stand for them, Regina. Anything I can do to help, let me know."

"Well actually there is, now that you mentioned it." The queen said carefully. "The blue bug has a puppet on the council, as I mentioned. She has been getting the townsfolk worked up, scaring the other council leader's constituents, goading them into putting pressure on their representatives to pass this article. It would be helpful if we could assure the town that we are safe. I'm uncertain how, but any ideas from the sheriff's office would be welcome."

"Wow." Emma said softly. "Politics were never my thing."

"All it is, is backstabbing and posturing. The whole thing is very similar to how the royals ran their courts in my own world." The queen said.

"So, how about we work on a cloaking spell?" Emma suddenly said. "People will calm themselves after the whole Greg and Tamara thing if they know the outside world can't get in."

The queen hummed thinking it was a good idea right off the bat, "That would take quite a bit of magic Emma. It would need to be sustained indefinitely. And what if people want to leave? They wouldn't be able to come back, they couldn't find the town." Regina listed off several items off the top of her head.

"We could do it, Regina, together." Emma insisted, but doubt entered her heart and asked, "We are more powerful together, right?"

The woman was sitting up now considering the blonde's plan, "We are." Regina smiled. "It seems our magic is compatible." Regina ran her fingers over Emma's bare arm and felt the familiar tingle course through her body. Emma frowned and knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. "What are you doing?" she asked the brunette. "Don't you feel that surge?" Regina asked. "It happens everytime we touch." Emma lifted her eyebrow questioningly. "Yeah." She said breathlessly, desire filled her as the brunette's finger tips danced along the top of Emma's shoulders.

"It's been doing that since Neverland." Regina revealed. "Or at least that is when I noticed it." She admitted.

"It did it before," Emma gulped, "I just thought it was—" she stopped herself from saying what she was thinking, however it was far too late, she started it and knew Regina had heard and would ask her to finish.

 _'This Swan. Is how you fuck up your life.'_ The asshole said triumphantly.

"Was what?" The brunette asked as if on queue.

"You know." Emma struggled to not say the words.

"What?" Regina removed her fingers questioning the blonde.

"Like… sexual tension… or whatever…" Emma looked away as she mumbled the words.

"Oh." The brunette said softly. After a moment in silence, "I hadn't thought of that." She said honestly.

"Yeah, well I couldn't assume it was our magic I guess." The blonde chuckled softly, the laugh didn't quite make it into her eyes, she was embarrassed. She knew in no uncertain terms that things between them would get weird, and this was the beginning of the end. She felt rejected and it showed brightly behind her green eyes. She chastised herself for once again talking without thinking and decided she needed to get away from this situation.

"I'm… I'm going to just go throw the mattress on the floor and sleep in the spare room." She announced suddenly. The look of shock on the brunette's face was unseen as Emma kept her gaze everywhere but the queen's face.

"Emma…" was all the mayor got out before the blonde had jumped up out of the bed and slipped out the door. She was sitting motionless on her bed, confused by the saviors actions, but more so by her words. First she called her room "the spare room", not "her room" which is what it had been called since they decided she would move there. Clearly Regina was missing something big.

She considered what had been said, _had she been wrong about their magic? No, they did magic together. It was, certainly, compatible. The electric pulse that flowed off the blonde whenever she touched her, that_ _ **felt**_ _like magic._

 _But… the savior wasn't wrong either._ She had known for certain she desired the girl, longer than the few days she had actually admitted to herself. The longing she felt when they had returned from Neverland, the absence of the woman from her daily life had been felt quite strongly. She kept herself in check, thinking the savior could never feel the same way about her. She had two suitors already! And they were MEN!

 _'Not that she was considering either one of them._ ' Her inner voice reminded her.

She sat on the bed in silence for several moments before she heard someone descending the stairs. _'She is running!'_ her inner voice screamed at her. She leapt from the bed and bound down the stairs into the dark foyer. She hadn't heard the front door; the savior was still in the house. She stopped and listened in the dark for sounds of the blonde. Sure enough she heard her in the living room and she walked briskly toward the muffled ruffling. Her eyes had quickly adjusted themselves to the dark, however it seemed the savior wasn't as fortunate. She stopped in the archway and watched the woman try to unfold her newly purchased duvet and settle down on her couch. It was much too small for the leggy woman to be comfortable and she was folded up twisted into a ball.

Regina stood quietly considering what she should do. The blonde didn't seem angry, nor was she running as she had initially thought, the look in the woman's eyes had been, embarrassment. She was embarrassed that she considered their magical pairing nothing more than a sexual compatibility. Regina thought on this for several moments. The conclusion she came to was that Emma Swan wanted it to be a sexual thing. She was clearly hurt when the queen said she hadn't thought of it, and that is precisely when she ran from the room. This revelation flipped the queen's insides at the mere possibility. How to be sure? She thought she knew the blonde fairly well, she was an open book with her emotions and she was certain the ones she witnessed in her bedroom were correctly diagnosed.

Her legs stepped forward into the living room, silently. Just as she knelt down next to the savior she heard the telltale sniffle of the woman silently crying. It was soft and barely there. To look at her she was completely still, if it hadn't been for that one quick sniff, Regina would assume the woman asleep. This skill was probably learned from years of crying herself to sleep in the orphanage, careful not to wake the other children around her.

She put her hand on the woman's back, Emma stiffened abruptly, the brunette had startled her. "Come back to bed Emma."

After a moment Emma murmured, "It's okay. I'm good." Her voice sounded almost normal to the untrained ear, but Regina knew better. There was a sea of emotion being held back.

"Emma look at me." The mayor said softly. A demand, but not a harsh one. Emma turned herself so she was lying flat on her back, her head was turned still facing the back of the love seat. "I said LOOK at me." She said a little more firmly. "How do you know I'm not?" the blonde shot back into the dark.

"Other than the fact that you are mostly just a petulant child, I can SEE you, you idiot." Regina volleyed back to the blonde.

"Really?" Emma turned her head in the direction of the voice, but it was pitch black in the room, she couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

"Perhaps if you had more carrots in your diet Miss Swan, your eyes would be operational." The brunette smiled as she snarked. "What are you doing down here?" Regina asked.

"I didn't want to make noise by moving the mattress, it is behind the desk and dresser and I couldn't lay it out on the floor of the room it is in, and I couldn't poof it, so I decided to sleep on the couch." The blonde huffed out quickly.

"Come back to bed, Emma." It wasn't said as a demand, once again, but it was an offer and the blonde could tell the difference. Emma shook her head, hot tears threatened to fall once more and she squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from the brunette.

"Please?" Regina punctuated her plea with a soft touch to the blonde's shoulder, turning her back to face her. She took a chance and bent down, hovering her face close to the blonde, who felt the proximity and her breath caught tightly in her chest.

She breathed out the woman's name, "Regina?" as she felt soft lips touch her own. A violent bright ring of white healing light burst from their touch, something that shocked both women into breaking the embrace.

"What the hell was that?" Emma demanded. Regina smirked knowingly. "It's a reason to come back to bed, dear." Her hand cupped the blonde's cheek and she leaned into her once more, putting all of her faith into the kiss that would convince the younger woman this was right. Emma melted into the older woman allowing herself to feel the love that flowed freely between them, but then Emma, being Emma, pushed her back and broke the passion with a scared look in her eyes. "I thought Henry was my, you know, TRUE true love?" The question was valid, she knew, but the queen sighed nonetheless. "Emma there are many kinds of love, the love for your child being only one."

"So wait." The blonde sat up on the couch and Regina sat back on her heels to allow her the movement. "Did you know? I mean that we were…" She didn't say the words, she couldn't. Not yet anyway.

"No." Regina replied honestly. "I'm as surprised as you are Emma."

"But you still just totally kissed me." Emma smiled wickedly knowing she was putting the brunette on the spot.

"Yes, well…" she searched her long list of snarky quips and wicked digs for something that would put the blonde in her place. She came up empty so she just let the statement hang.

"Yes, well," she mocked, "you love me…" Emma's eyes grew wide as she stared blindly into the dark. "You totally love me!" she repeated more shocked at the words than anything else.

"Apparently the feeling is mutual dear." The queen faux grumbled. Not unhappy with the sheer joy on the blonde's face, but also not wanting to look weak or needy either.

Emma searched out with her hand towards the brunette in the dark, and Regina snapped her fingers and the hall light turned on, illuminating the living room softly. Emma's head instantly turned to face her, fear filled her green eyes and Regina felt suddenly like she made a mistake by turning on a light.

"I'm…" the blonde stuttered, speaking before she had thought through what she wanted to say. "Afraid?" the mayor finished for her. Her blonde head nodded. "Tell me Emma…" Regina rose and sat on the love seat next to the girl, putting her hand on her knee.

"I'm going to mess this up, somehow, and I can't. I…" she searched for her feelings that were always just beyond her reach. "I feel like…" she shook her head, her blonde curls swaying over her shoulders. "when I finally do…" she gulped audibly, "…Henry…" trying to convey her fears to the queen who nodded in perfect understanding.

"Earlier tonight, I was worried that I was going to lose this, feeling of home, because of how I feel about you." She could no longer look at the dark eyes studying her. "But now, now I know it will be something else, something I can't control, and it will happen, and you will leave, and it won't just be me that gets hurt. It'll be him."

"Emma…" the queen said her name slowly, with all the care she felt for the woman, "We won't let that happen." She said.

"You can't promise that!" the blonde was suddenly angry at the mayor's blind faith. "It always gets screwed up! I always do or say something and they send me away!" The words left Emma's mouth before she knew exactly what she was saying.

"Who sends you away dear?" Regina looked puzzled thinking she had been talking about her past romantic relationships, clearly she had been mistaken.

"Everyone!" Emma said loudly, exasperated that the brunette wasn't on the same page as her. "Everyone! Potential adoptive parents! Foster parents! My REAL parents! Even NEIL! Everyone! I screw it all up! Always! And this time…" her voice cracked and she huffed at her own outburst.

"This time it won't just be you, silently crying yourself to sleep at night, it will be Henry, losing his mother?" The brunette finished. Emma covered her face and a strangled sob escaped her throat. Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde's lithe frame, cupping the back of her head, holding her to her chest as she spoke, "Emma, Henry will never lose you. No matter what happens, or doesn't happen, between his mother's." She stroked the back of the girls head, smoothing down her tangled curls.

"You say that now, you can't promise that. You can't Regina. Who knows what idiotic thing I'll do to ruin this." Emma mumbled into the woman's shoulder.

"I can, and do promise that Emma Swan." She said softly. "If it is one thing I know, without a doubt, is that your son will never let you go." she stroked the blonde curls in a feeble attempt at taming the mess. "Hey, look, I'm scared too." She admitted. "If you are my true love, that means Daniel…" she swallowed hard steeling herself for the admission, "Wasn't. That means everything I did in his name… to avenge him… was just my own evil seeping out. It wasn't the loss of true love that darkened me, it was me, and everything I did, everything I had become…"

"Everything you became?" Emma practically yelled in her exasperation. She pulled away from the soothing embrace of Regina's bosom, and was looking intently into the queen's eyes. "Regina, you were twisted and used and manipulated into becoming the Evil Queen by a sick twisted _heartless_ woman, who happened to be your mother, and a centuries old evil incarnate imp in search of the son he abandoned. They used you from day one! You were nothing, but a pawn in some sick chess game for power, played by two of the evilest sons of bitches known in all the realms, how could you seriously have had a chance? How could you have become anything else? You were isolated from love from birth and sold into servitude to further your mother's ambitions. Jesus! What I've found out about Gold over the last few months, about what lengths he went to, to ensure you cast the curse so HE didn't have to pay the price? Gives me nightmares Regina!" . The normal emerald muddied over in a pale gray as her anger surfaced unhampered. Regina was left speechless.

"So, we are both fucked up." Emma concluded. "Your broken twisted pieces fit perfectly into my bent shattered ones." Emma lifted her hand and traced a line with her thumb down the side of the queen's face, over the apple of her cheek bone to the corner of her mouth. "I've wanted to say this for a really long time," she paused, looking down at the queen's perfect pouty lips, then back up into the blackness of her eyes. "You are positively breathtaking. You're not just beautiful, you are stunning. I often catch myself looking at you, the good in you, shines brighter than the evil ever did. You simply amaze me Regina Mills."

"Oh Emma…" Regina's voice rumbled the blonde's name from deep within her, "I.." the passion and love in the queen's eyes turned quickly to fear as thoughts she hadn't considered started invading her conscious mind.

"What is it?" Emma noticed the change in her immediately. She held the woman's face studying her, reading her emotions as if she were a book laid out on display.

"What if… you DO do something moronic and leave, or worse get yourself killed? I know what I am capable of Emma, losing you would mean…"

"You wouldn't." Emma shook her head, still holding the queen gently.

"I would!" she insisted.

"No, not this time." Emma rebutted.

"How can you be so sure?" tears found their way down the queen's face, Emma made quick work of wiping them up. "Because you will have Henry, and our son, will never let you go. Not ever again." Emma said confidently. "And you'll promise me, right here and now, if we do this," She pulled the woman in and kissed her gently and pressed their foreheads together speaking quietly in the space between them. "You won't turn into a monster if something happens to me." Regina broke from the blonde's embrace and looked down. "I can't promise you that." Emma lifted the queens chin, "You have to. If something happens to me, it is up to you to care for our son. Just like you've always done." Emma's hand released the queen's chin and rested on the outside of her satin covered thigh. "Promise me Regina." She demanded. The queen nodded in agreement. "Say the words." Emma insisted.

"I promise you, Emma Swan, if something happens to you, I will not turn back into a monster." Regina said the words petulantly, with a slight eye roll, but the savior knew she meant them.

"Thank you." Emma smiled. "Can we do more kissing stuff now?" she asked with a wicked grin. The queen laughed and nodded, biting her bottom lip nervously, her body suddenly a flame as if someone were throwing hot coals on the fire that was lit low in her gut. She was suddenly anxious, and nervous and felt like the young girl she was so very long ago. Emma leaned in, brushing her cheek against the queen's cheek, her lips meeting her earlobe and whispered, "We don't have to do anything you are uncomfortable with."

"Let's go to bed." The queen said. They stood and Emma's hand enclosed around one of Regina's and she lead her up the stairs. Just as they were crossing the threshold of the bedroom Emma suddenly remembered something and exclaimed excitedly, "Oh wait! Hang on!" she bounded past the brunette who watched her go down the hall into her own room. Regina was uncertain what the savior wanted her to do, so she circled the bed and climbed into her side. Emma returned to the bedroom a moment later holding a wooden frame. She sat down excitedly and handed it to the brunette with a wide dimpled smile. Regina turned it over and gasped as she looked at it, it was them, when they first came back from Neverland. "Where did you get this?" she asked in awe. "Rubes took it and sent it to me. I got the frame for it today though when we went shopping. I thought the little tree thing looked like your family crest." She said shyly. "It seemed appropriate since it was a picture of your family."

"Oh Emma… Thank you." She looked back down at the thoughtful gift and ran her fingers over the metal crest. "I have no words." She said quietly.

"I'm glad you like it." Emma smiled and climbed into her side of the bed. Regina set her gift on the end table next to her, she didn't have many photos displayed in her home, and none that included herself, but this one was by far her favorite. The woman had done this, before she knew about how Regina felt about her, before she knew about true love's kiss. She had done this because before all that, she felt apart of Regina's family. She felt home. That knowledge pleased the queen beyond measure. Emma reached over and turned off the lamp that was lit on her own end table and settled down in the bed she held her arms open to the brunette who nestled down into her, fitting into her like the last piece to the puzzle. Emma kissed her forehead gently, pushing her nose into the brunette's hairline taking in her essence, as she wrapped her arms around her, pulling her tightly into her body.

"Is it okay, if we just do this?" Emma asked after a moment. "I mean tonight? Is this enough? I mean, for you?" she had started to stumble but pulled it back so she thought. Regina nodded her head and hummed her contentment. Before she got too cozy she snapped her fingers and the lamp on her own side of the bed clicked off.

In the cover of darkness Regina found the words she couldn't say to Emma during her well-spoken confession of admiration. Her voice was low and rumbled with emotion. She laid her hand down on the blonde's chest, listening to her heart as she spoke from her own. "I am terrified," She started, "But this," she lightly patted her hand down on the girl's chest, "feels so wonderful." She paused to collect her thoughts before she continued. "I want you to know, that what I feel for you is…" she laughed as she searched for the right word that would encompass this huge life altering feeling, "Indescribable. I want whatever this is, and I want to do it right."

The blonde pulled her impossibly close and kissed her on her forehead, it felt so natural, as if this is how they had always been. "I want that too. No pressure, no expectations, honesty, always." There had been no pressure, no uncertainty, not for the blonde. She knew exactly how this woman felt about her, she trusted that, there was no doubt in her mind the woman loved her, for the first time she knew, she could easily say the words without fear of rejection. "I love you Regina."

Regina nodded into her shoulder, and "I love you Emma." were the last words she said before she slipped off into the most peaceful sleep of her adult life.


	8. Chapter 8

The morning came quickly and the women had decided to wait to tell Henry anything until they were not rushed. They would have a sit down family dinner and discuss their new found, relationship. Emma was certain he would be pleased, but Regina worried the boy would think this was part of the Evil Queen's plan to corrupt the White Knight. "Don't be ridiculous, he wants both of us to be happy." Emma said as she pulled on a pair of sweatpants. "Trust our son, Regina." She leaned in and kissed the brunette on the cheek, who was standing partially dressed in front of her wardrobe.

Emma left the woman to finish preparing for her meeting that morning and went downstairs to make her _family_ breakfast. Eggs, bacon and toast. A Swan specialty. Just as she was plating the food and both Henry and Regina came down the stairs, the doorbell rang. Emma froze, it was early for a visitor, and a look passed between the women. Henry jumped up and claimed "I'll get it!" Emma stopped him, "No, you eat up, you've got school. I'll get it." she said with an approving nod from the brunette.

"David?" she said. His face was wracked with worry. "What's wrong?"

"May I come in?" he asked in a serious tone. Emma nodded her head and said, "Yeah. Uh, sure." She opened the door wide to allow her father entrance. "Is everything okay?" she asked again.

"No, not really. Is Regina home?" he asked hopefully. "I'd like to talk to you both if I could."

"We're just having breakfast with Henry." She said.

"May we talk privately?" insinuating the topic maybe of an adult nature. "Yeah, sure" she replied directing him into Regina's office. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll get Gina."

He looked at her curiously in regards to her term for the Queen that seemed rather familiar. She had never once called the woman that, nor did she know why it suddenly tumbled from her lips. However, she let it go and turned to fetch the Queen.

"Henry," Emma said as she entered the kitchen, "Your grandfather is here, go say hi quick then go finish getting ready for school."

"You got it ma!" he grabbed the last bacon on his plate and ran out to greet his granddad.

"David is here?" Regina looked concerned.

"Yeah, something is up, he wants to talk to us." Emma replied.

"Us?" the mayor inquired.

"That is what he said."

"Whatever for?"

Emma smiled wickedly to put the brunette's mind at ease, "I don't know, let's go find out. After you, your highness."

"Darling, I am a Queen, the correct term is Your Majesty." She drawled regally. She lifted her head and strutted out of the kitchen.

"My sincerest apologies your Majesty." Emma chuckled at their little play as she followed her queen into the office.

"So David, what's up?" Emma began.

"It's your mother." He replied quietly. Emma's eyes grew wide with worry, "Is she okay?" she asked immediately.

"If you mean is she hurt, no, she is physically okay." he responded mysteriously.

"But…" the brunette helped the pair of blonde Charmings along.

"But there is something wrong with her." He finished.

"Other than she pulled a weapon on my family in a public place?" Emma said harshly.

"No, including that. That was uncharacteristic of her Emma, you know that." He said pleading for his daughter to see what he saw of his wife.

"It certainly surprised me David." The blonde agreed.

"What else has she done David?" The brunette inquired.

"She has been going on and on about this Neal thing. She won't let it go. I've tried to talk to her, I've heard your wishes Emma, I respect your choices, and typically so does your mother, but lately she just has tunnel vision or something."

"Yeah I wasn't expecting her to use Henry like she did. You know, I had to leave right Dad?" Emma looked for the understanding in her father's kind blue eyes.

"I know. She completely came undone yesterday afternoon when she found out you left." His eyes were sad, but also fearful.

"Well what can I do about it? She needs to get over it." Emma said sharply.

"There is more Emma, after the incident at the diner," he started,

"Where she held a weapon to my son and his mother? Yes?" Emma sniped. Regina put her hand on the blonde woman's arm, and a silent calm overtook the savior.

"Yes, that." he looked curiously between the women and continued. "When we got home she started pacing the kitchen talking about how we needed to make sure that prop 37 makes it through so we could get back to our kingdom. When I asked her what that had to do with you," he gestured to his daughter, "she said that when we go we'd take Henry and Emma would have to follow." Tears crested his eyes, his heart ached as he felt like he was betraying his wife's trust, and perhaps he was, but she wasn't herself and he needed help.

"If she thinks she is going to kidnap MY SON—" Regina boomed her onyx eyes clouded over in a stormy violet. It was now Emma's turn to sooth the queen. "No one is going to take Henry, I promise, I won't let that happen Regina." Emma spoke firmly and held her gaze. The magic that sprang forth settled back down as Emma turned her attention back to her father, who was visibly shaken by the outburst. "I am having a hard time understanding Daddy. What— I mean, how— Er, Why?"

"I couldn't understand most of what she was saying, she sounded crazed Emma! However the bulk of the plan was taking Henry to ensure you follow, you'll need us, you'll need Neal—"

"Get married, have babies, live happily ever after." Emma finished spitefully.

"Basically, yes." He agreed. "There is something WRONG with her. My wife would never put Henry in danger, she would never lie and manipulate—"

"I beg to differ Charming." The brunette drawled. "We know two very different Snow White's. That being said, I tend to agree with you regarding her recent behavior, she wouldn't put Henry in danger like she did at the diner. Not over something as petty as spite, that is more…" the brunette trailed off her mind reeling with hypothesis. "What is it Regina?" Emma asked knowing the mayor had thought of a possible explanation of her mother's odd behavior.

"Snow darkened her heart, when she manipulated me into killing Cora." She distanced herself from her mother by using her first name, it was a defense mechanism Emma knew for certain. "Once you darken your heart, it only grows darker. It changes who you are, fundamentally." The brunette stated.

"Yeah, but in Neverland, she seemed like chipper ole Snow to me." Emma asked, "I mean she spoke out against killing that mermaid, and freaked out about taking the lost boy's heart, remember? She was still good."

"It takes time, Emma." The brunette said quietly. She stood and circled around the other two before sharing more of herself than she felt comfortable with. "It took me months after Dan… After I wed the king before I started hallucinating about killing your mother, and years before I actually killed the king." She sighed. "And I had help. Rumple shaped my darkness to suit his purposes. Your mother, has a goal, a goal born of good intentions, her darkness is warping them, who knows what she will be capable of." Regina saw the fear for their family in both sets of Charming eyes. "There is nothing more dangerous than a pious man on a holy crusade. Or in this case, a woman who was raised to believe she was goodness incarnate, on a mission to bring her broken daughter home." She looked at Emma with empathy.

"What can we do?" David, the action guy, wanted a solution to the problem.

"Well we can start by shutting down prop 37 David." The brunette offered.

"How exactly will that help?" he asked confused.

"It will help the dwarves David. It will also slow down fairy dust production and will prolong the portal creation so your wife can't steal my son away to another realm!" she snapped.

"Daddy," Emma used the soft title she had given him as of late to grab his attention. It worked flawlessly. "The fairies kind of use the dwarves to pay the price of their magic."

"What?" he was thoroughly confused by what she was saying.

"All magic comes with a price David. Haven't you ever noticed the fairies never have to pay it?" Regina added.

"I've never really thought about it." He said honestly.

Emma looked at Regina as if to say, "I got this" and began explaining to her father the balance of power between fairies and dwarves.

"But fairies are good." He said after it was laid out to him.

Regina sighed loudly and sat down on the recliner across from where Father and Daughter sat on the loveseat. "Their magic still causes the deaths of living creatures. Creatures that are sentient and don't WANT to be slaves anymore." She said delicately.

"If what you say is true, then of course, we will find another way." He said definitively.

"It is Dad."

"How am I going to tell the nuns?" he said worriedly. Mother Superior was pretty headstrong and he always found that when they spoke, she talked circles around him, confused him with her logic and always got him to agree with her. It was she who had convinced them it was a good idea to put their infant daughter into a magical wardrobe after all. He never liked the feeling speaking to her caused and usually let Snow deal with her when they had interaction.

"Blue will get over it." Emma said.

"In the meantime, how are we going to keep Henry safe?" Regina asked.

"We will talk to him, first of all. You made sure he was a smart kid, Regina, he will get this." Emma encouraged.

David had noticed the dynamic between his daughter and the evil queen had started to change while they were in Neverland, he noted their interaction during this conversation taking stock as they each took turns calming, reassuring and supporting one another. It was a curious development, something he would need to think further on at a later time.

"Okay, I'll meet you both at city hall for the town meeting to get this dwarf breeding proposition off the table." She turned to her father and put her hand on his, "Hang in there Daddy, we will figure out a way to get her back, okay?" He nodded and then stood. He turned to Regina, "Thank you your Majesty." In no way was it snarky or sarcastic, he was thanking her genuinely for her help. She lowered her head slightly in a regal bow, acknowledging his gratitude. She didn't stand to walk their guest to the door, she allowed Emma to walk him out. She stayed sitting in the office, her mind going over possible scenarios of how all this could go badly. Emma wanted to believe her mother would never harm their son, but Regina knew darkness. She knew singular focused goal setting and she was frightened for her family, not just Henry, but Emma as well.

Regina finally stood and met the blonde in the foyer as she closed the door after her father. "Let's go talk to our son, shall we?"

Henry was putting books into his backpack when his mother's knocked on his door. "Come in." he called.

"So what did grandpa want?" he asked, knowing it was curious for David to come over so early without good reason.

"Have a seat kid," Emma started. Regina hung back and leaned against his desk and allowed the blonde to take point with their son. "You know how your Gran has been acting weird lately?" fear struck the boy's face, he knew exactly what she was talking about. He had been trying to figure out how Snow White could do the things she has done recently, without success. He nodded in agreement with his mother. "Well, she…" Emma lost her momentum and paused searching for a way to tell her kid something she, herself, didn't quite understand. "When she murdered Cora," Emma flinched at the term, no matter how accurate it had been, "She darkened her heart. That darkness is growing. We are going to find a way to help her, but until we do, I need you to promise me you won't go with her anywhere, unless you are told by either me or your mother that it is okay. We can't trust her judgement right now, but we are going to help her get past this, okay kid?" he looked fearful, but he pushed that down to be strong for his mother's. "Okay."

His adoptive mother spoke up, "Do you have any questions Henry?" she saw the fear in the boy's eyes, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, she knew her son and he was afraid for his Gran.

"She will get better, right mom?" he looked at his brunette mother when he asked this, she knew darkness, she would know the answer. "We are going to do everything we can to help Snow, darling, I promise." Emma picked up on the fact that Regina hadn't actually answered his question and added, "If your mom can fight the darkness, so can your Gran." She smiled looking at her love. This appeased the boy and he looked at the time, he was behind and would be late if they didn't leave soon.

"Okay let's go!" he said. Regina nodded her head with his assessment and touched his shoulder as he passed her by, "I'm right behind you darling." Once they were alone Regina held out her hands to the blonde, who took them as she came close. "I think you should be the one to mention erecting a shield over the town today. You were right last night, it will put their minds at ease and make it easier for them to accept an alternative to fairy magic."

"Why me?" Emma hated speaking in front of people and wasn't looking forward to doing it today. "Because you, sweetheart…" she was trying the term on for size and wrinkled her nose in distaste as it passed over her lips, "are the savior." Emma rolled her eyes. "And I'm untrustworthy in the eyes of Storybrooke." the mayor added diplomatically.

"Well as the savior, I intend to change that perception." She wrapped her arms around her queen and pulled her closer. Regina's breath caught in her chest as Emma leaned in for a kiss. "Good luck today, babe." Emma said with a smile.

"No." Regina said shaking her head. "Not babe. I'm not some harlot you've picked up down at the Rabbit Hole."

"Ok, well, not 'Sweetheart' either, my mother calls me that and it is creepy." Emma threw back.

Regina rolled her eyes, "It sounded odd anyway." she agreed. "We'll figure it out I suppose, my White Knight."

"Yes, my Queen." Emma agreed and kissed her once more. "I'm going to shower and I'll meet you down at city hall. They relinquished their embrace and parted ways with extreme reluctance.


	9. Chapter 9

The town hall was crammed full of town folk when Emma arrived. People were lined along the back and side walls, there was nowhere left to sit and she made her way to the front of the room to stand beside the stage, where the council members were setting up their positions and quietly talking among themselves. Regina was in the center of the table going through papers she had in various folders, putting order to their agenda. She turned on the microphone that was set up in front of her and cleared her throat. "Can we have order? Town meeting is about to commence." She silently waited for the room to settle down. Emma saw David on the other side of the stage and scanned the room for her mother. She found her standing with Mother Superior on the same side of the room as David, but curiously away from him.

Regina skillfully worked their way through several agenda items that had been on her list, allowing each affected party to speak their minds about each subject as they droned forward. Emma stood quietly, not really listening to what was being said, this kind of stuff bored her senseless. She did however watch the mayor in her element. She was direct, and concise and so _very_ sexy. She let her mind wander as she had done many many times before on the subject of the mayor. From her position on the floor, she could see the woman's sculpted legs, fold and unfold and fold once more. Her body heat rose as she imagined the woman sitting before her, sliding her fingers up her thighs, under that pencil skirt she wore like a glove. She had a wicked smirk on her dreamy face when she heard her name and snapped out of it. "Miss Swan?" All eyes were on her and her face turned a deep red. "Yeah?" she asked innocently.

"You had a proposition you wanted to discuss?" the queen prompted.

"Right." Emma said and turned to the audience. "Uh, I um," she stumbled before finding her track. "I know many of you are worried after the whole Greg and Tamara thing," many heads nodded and looked knowingly at one another. "And uh, as the Sheriff, it is my job to protect you all from outside threats." She scanned the room looking hopeful that they would believe she could in fact do such a thing. "I proposed erecting a sort of force field around the town, hiding it from the outside world." The room burst into murmurs and someone called out, "Can that be done?"

"Well," Emma looked at Regina for help, "Yes. I am learning how to control my magic, and with the mayor's assistance, I thin… I am confident, we can prevent outsiders from coming into town." Another bout of murmurs erupted, much louder than before. Regina pounded her gavel down on the table to quiet the town down. Once they had settled to her liking the mayor spoke to the council. "All in favor of the savior protecting us from harm, say you now?"

A unanimous decision and Regina pounded her gavel once again. "So say we all." Emma had to snicker at the sci-fi reference, but knew she was probably the only one in the room who got the joke, so she settled herself quickly.

"Now that that has been settled, we have a proposition by David Nolan regarding prop 37, David?" she said sweetly.

David stepped forward nervously, Emma knew he was concerned about his wife's reaction to withdrawing the proposition. "As you all know, we have been looking for a way to get back home to our world. The idea that was proposed," he looked over at his wife and Blue, "Was that we use fairy dust to achieve a portal, and those who wanted to go could." He paused and let the murmurs settle. "However, it would take an exuberant amount of fairy dust to create such a portal. We don't have the manpower for it." He looked at Snow apologetically, "The proposition was to breed more dwarves like they did back home, however," he swallowed nervously as Snow's eyes narrowed, "It has come to my attention that isn't something our dwarf friends desire. They are not slaves. It is wrong to treat them as such."

Emma watched as Blue whispered into her mother's ear, Snow nodding in agreement, she put her hand on the fairy's forearm to console her. "So I've decided to withdraw proposition 37, and in light of the savior's plan to protect us, propose that we find for those who want to go home, a way." Regina pounded her gavel as many gasps and murmurs erupted along with cheers and elation. Grumpys voice being the most vocal in his pleasure.

"Order!" Regina called out and smacked her gavel a few more times getting the town under control. "The council accepts your promise to find those who wish it a way back to the Enchanted Forest," she looked over at Emma with a slight smile on her red painted lips, "The heat is off now that the Savior has found a way to protect us, I think we can all agree that taking the time to find a safer, more permanent solution to travel between realms is in the best interest of all Storybrooke residents." A wide smile graced the queen's lips as the entire town applauded her assessment. Emma watched as Snow stormed over to her husband, shoving people aside as she weaved her way through the crowd. She was clearly angry and he was doing his best to calm her once she got to his position. Emma's attention was on her parents and she hadn't noticed Mother Superior saddle up next to her.

"Emma, may we speak for a moment?" she asked sweetly. Emma felt her blood run cold as the magical being spoke.

"Uh, sure?" she looked back at Regina who had a worried look on her face as she watched her love follow the blue fairy out of the meeting room.

Once out in the quiet hall Blue turned to the savior and offered her assistance in erecting the shield. "We have much magic at our disposal, much more than the Evil Queen. We can help you tap into your white magic. Regina will only corrupt your purity dear."

Emma couldn't help but laugh, "So many things wrong with what you just said." She shook her head. Everything about what the sister had said was fake sounding, her compassion, her warning and it irked Emma to no end.

"I'm sorry?" the fairy was confused.

"Well, let's see, I'm not going to let you enslave dwarves, Blue. Your magic is nothing without your scapegoats paying the price on your behalf." She spat at the woman.

"We created the dwarves! They are ours to do with as we please!" the fairy's insistence was colored by her anger at the audacity of this child questioning the ways of fairy-dom. "It has been a long standing tradition for millennia!"

Emma smirked victoriously as the nun had spoke her truth within anger. "Just because you've gotten away with subjugating an entire species for a long time, doesn't make it right. It also doesn't mean I'm going to allow it to continue." She turned away from the seething fairy who was used to getting her own way.

Emma turned back around and got right in the woman's face, "If you ever call my son's mother, Evil in my presence again, trust me Sister, you will regret it." She stared into the fairy's eyes for a moment longer than she needed to, just to make her point, her emerald orbs swirling with milky white magic.

The look of disdain was poorly hidden on the sister's face as Emma turned and walked back into the meeting hall. As soon as Emma slipped back into the room, Regina's eyes were on her. Emma greeted the questioning stare with a reassuring head nod and smile. They had a few more things on the agenda and then the meeting was drawn to a close. Emma watched as Snow and David left, she was still clearly angry and he was contrite. Regina was busy being the politician she was and discussing matters with a few constituents, Emma waited patiently on the side lines until she was done, then followed her back to her office. Once inside the brunette closed and locked the door behind them. Emma raised her eyebrow to silently question the mayor. Regina had a predatory look on her face, "We did it!" she was pleased with how the meeting went. She wrapped her arms around the saviors neck and pulled her close. She whispered into her ear, "Thank you Emma! You saved the dwarves!" Emma let her hands glide down Regina's sides, resting on her hips.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Madam Mayor, YOU saved the dwarves. It was you who convinced me, and me that convinced Dad." She pulled Regina back so she could look into her eyes. "I could get lost in those brown eyes of yours." Emma said thoughtlessly.

"You say the most beautiful things to me." Regina sounded curious. "I love you Emma Swan."

"I know." Emma replied smugly.

"So what did the blue moth want? You didn't look pleased when you came back." Regina pulled away from their embrace, still not comfortable being so close to another person as they spoke.

"Oh you know, the usual, she wants to help with the protection spell, help me tap into my white magic, blah blah blah."

"I'm sure she does." The brunette drawled. "Did she upset you?"

"I just don't like her fake," Emma paused to find the word, "Everything. Her fake concern, her fake offer to help. As if it has anything to do with helping me and nothing to do with getting her magic back." Emma flopped down on one of the chairs in front of the mayor's desk.

"So did you track when your bed will be arriving?" Regina asked, wanting to change the subject. She had plenty to say about the blue fairy but didn't feel her bias would help the blonde deal with the woman.

Emma looked at her phone, "It should be arriving any time now. Wanna go help me set it up?" the blonde said with a wicked grin and a sparkle in her eye. She had been eyeing the mayor all day and she wanted to get her into so many different compromising positions she could barely stand it.

Regina saw the glint the woman had and shot back a grin of her own, "Set it up? Or break it in?" she dared flirt. Emma stood instantly and crossed the short distance between them pushing the mayor back onto her desk, she kissed the woman passionately. "I've wanted to kiss you all damn day." She said and then kissed her again, this time less needy, more tender. "You know how many fantasies I've had about taking you on this desk?" she asked the brunette.

Regina's breath caught in her chest as the words registered within her. "Emma!" the mayor was shocked, but intrigued. Her breathing became ragged and hard. Emma's hands slipped down her body, over her hips, cupping her shapely ass. The mayor almost instinctively spread open her thighs as far as the skirt she was wearing would allow, Emma took the invitation and pressed her hips within the opening. "What kind of fantasies?" Regina licked her lips, trying her best to flirt with the savior, "Tell me one."

Emma hummed into the woman's neck and licked her pulse point up to her earlobe where she began to whisper, "Well your majesty, first you summon me to your office. You see, I've been a bad girl, late on my paperwork again."

"That isn't a fantasy Miss Swan. That is a Tuesday." Regina drawled.

"Regina! Do you want to hear this or not?" Emma faux complained, she was trying to be sexy and Regina's snark was dampening the mood.

"Go on dear." Her hands slid under the savior's cotton tee shirt, stroking her abs, they were exactly how she thought they would feel and she felt the pull of desire.

"As I said, I've been a bad girl, you force me down on my knees behind your desk. You tell me you are cross with me and I need to make it up to you. You then remove your skirt and bend over your desk exposing your most intimate of places in my direct line of sight. You are dripping wet, your panties are soaked through and I can see how much you want me. You tell me I've made quite the mess between your legs and tell me I need to clean it up."

Regina moaned, completely captivated by the words of the blonde. Emma pulled her from her seat on the desk and turned her around, pressing her mound into the queen's ass, her hands slid down to the hem of her skirt, then slowly, oh so slowly dragged it up. The mayor's breath caught in her chest, "Emma?!" she panted nervously.

Emma cooed into her ear, "Shhhhh… You tell me I need to clean up my mess, and you hook your thumbs into the waistband of your panties and drag them down, exposing yourself to me. Your desire flowing out of you is certainly causing a mess as it drips down your inner thighs." Emma's hand cupped the brunette's inner thigh, it was on fire, there was a telltale sign of moisture as she reached the apex of the queen's legs. Her fingers grazed the thin lacy material that covered her pulsing sex, it was completely drenched. "You lean over your desk and open yourself up for me, commanding me to lick you clean." Regina bucked her hips into Emma's light touches seeking more friction against her throbbing core. "I start by laying my tongue on your inner thigh, licking up your juices that are running freely out of you."

"Oh Emma…" the queen's voice is deep and full of desire.

"I part you with the tip of my tongue and suck your lips into my mouth, devouring every drop of your desire. I lay my tongue flat and pull your sex into my mouth, you start to push back onto my face as I detail your pussy…"

"Oh Emma that is so dirty…" the mayor moaned. Emma dragged her finger over the queen's sex again, rubbing her gently as she whispered into her ear. "You want me to eat your pussy your Majesty?" That simple phrase uttered by the savior caused Regina to lose control of her knees, Emma moved quick to hold her steady, pinning her between her body and the desk. "Oh yes… I think…" the mayor panted, "I'd like that very much…"

"I'm certain of it." Emma rubs the slick fluid between her fingers. "Take off your panties. Now." She commanded the mayor. Emma released the brunette and watched her slowly decide if she was going to comply.

Regina's body was on edge, she wanted Emma to do anything she wanted to her, but her logical mind won out and she shook her head, "I have a proposal meeting," She looked over at the clock, "far too soon to start anything." Her heart was heavy with the weight of the blonde's pout, then lifted her eyebrows in question when Emma's signature smirk crossed her pale features. "How soon?" The blonde inquired.

"Ten minutes." Regina replied as her eyes flick up towards the wall clock. "Knowing Mr. Fischer, he will be early." She added to tamp down any lingering thoughts from crossing the sheriff's evil little mind.

"Take off your panties." The sheriff repeated.

"Miss Swan!" the tone wasn't as harsh as she had intended it to be, and her body flushed with new desire hoping against hope the blonde would find a way to rid it of this frustration.

"It is part of my fantasy. Take. Them. Off." She smiled wickedly. "Slowly."

Regina considered the request and against her better judgement she complied. She hiked up her skirt to just below the apex of her sex, and wiggled out of her red satin and lace panties. Emma knelt down, picking up the discarded garment, quickly rubbing the soaking wet fabric between her fingers as she pocketed them. She kissed bare stocking free thighs, breathing in Regina's intoxicating scent. Just as Regina thought Emma was going to touch her where her desire was screaming for her to, a knock loudly sounded on the door that startled the women back to reality. Emma pulled down Regina's skirt, smoothing out the fabric, paying special attention to her crotch region.

"Just a minute!" the brunette called out to the impatient knocker. "Miss Swan, may I have my underwear back please?"

"You may not." Emma smiled wickedly.

"Excuse me?" Regina was dismayed at the sheriff's unexpected answer.

"You may not have your panties back. That was the rest of my fantasy Madam Mayor, you sent me away with them, to punish me, having your scent envelop me for the remainder of the day without hope of having you."

"But…" the mayor looked properly horrified at going the rest of the day, including her meeting with Fischer, without panties on.

Emma's smile deepened as she pulled the worried woman into her, her breath hot against the soft flesh of her neck as she spoke, "Trust me Regina." The brunette calmed herself at those words seeped into her consciousness. "You will think of nothing, but me, for the rest of the day. Do try to keep yourself in check, Your Majesty." Emma squeezed her backside firmly.

The chocolate orbs dilated as Emma used her formal royal address, and honestly, the idea of going the rest of the day unbound by undergarments sent chills down the woman's body, it was all so naughty. The queen melted into Emma's wanting kisses. Nervous about the little game they were playing, but trusting the blonde implicitly.

Emma released her and called over her shoulder as she walked toward the door, "Do hurry home." Regina was shocked, standing in front of her desk where Emma left her. However she forced herself to recover quickly as Emma unlocked the door and pushed passed Mr. Fischer with a smirk. She could hear the man greet the mayor cordially, "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice Madam Mayor…" Emma palmed the damp fabric in her jacket pocket as she walked from the building.

Once the town meeting had adjourned Snow and David made their way out to the parking lot, she had given him her thoughts on what had happened, or more specifically, didn't happen. She had decided that he was being naïve, they needed a way to get back to their home. So many people from town had the same desire, Blue was good, she couldn't be responsible for harming the dwarves as David had said. "Emma said…" he tried.

"Emma is being controlled by the Evil Queen David! Have you always been this dense? What, she helps protect Henry, someone she cares for, _one_ time and all is forgotten?" Snow was angry; she had been blind-sided in the meeting and now had to deal with Mother Superior, a woman who can be quite demanding. It was a headache she hadn't anticipated. "You should have talked to me, David, beforehand."

David looked properly chastised and that pleased Snow. They walked to their vehicle in silence. Standing in front of their car was a circle of nuns, Mother Superior in the center. She addressed Snow immediately. "We need to discuss your daughter Snow. She is being led astray; I'm afraid for her!" David saw the compassion in the woman's eyes, it seemed genuine, but something in his gut made him feel otherwise. He did however, keep quiet and just hung back, letting the women cluck it out. "David, I'm going to go up to the convent with the sisters, would you be a dear and take the car home with you? I'll find a way home later on this afternoon." She smiled sweetly, it put him on edge and he had a feeling why. He did not want to be anywhere near the blue fairy at the moment, he could feel the anger she felt for him and after his wife had blown up at him, he felt his place was best elsewhere, so he relented with a nod.

Once David drove away Snow turned to the fairy, "We don't really need the council to start creating new dwarves right? You have enough fairy magic to start the process?'

"We do. We would be completely justified if we had our rightful Queens blessing, your majesty." The blue fairy bowed her head gently.

"The council is a sham, run by the Evil Queen, no less. You have my blessing, Blue." Snow said. "How do we start?"


	10. Chapter 10

Regina was restless during her meeting, and unfocused for the remainder of her day. Around 2:30 she called it quits on the work she was doing and decided she needed to go home. Emma had promises to fill and she intended to collect. All afternoon she could feel herself pulse with desire, every time she unfolded her legs to readjust them, cool air would find its way up her skirt fanning the flames. Once her meeting with Fischer was over, she had a few hours of paperwork to go through and sign off on different requests and proposals. She couldn't concentrate on any of it; her mind kept going back to the blonde's whispery voice against her earlobe, the dirty things she had said to her about where she wanted to put her mouth, made the mayor flush with heat every time she thought about it. She had thought about it quite often that afternoon, about how it would feel, her warm tongue against her most sensitive areas. It wasn't something she had ever experienced, nor had she ever even heard of such a thing. It sounded quite pleasurable.

Panic set back into the mayor when she realized that perhaps her inexperience would make her look foolish. She wanted to make Emma feel good as well and she had no idea where to even begin. She closed her eyes as she stopped her car at the intersection. 'Damn.' She thought to herself, 'I don't even have a proper girl friend to discuss this kind of thing with.' Not that she would, opening up and feeling foolish with Emma was one thing, she trusted Emma. Even before the true love's kiss. Anyone else, no. That just wouldn't do at all. Perhaps she could talk to the blonde beforehand… a honk of a horn from someone behind her startled her back out of her daydream and she waived to whomever it was to apologize.

 _'Ha! The Evil Queen apologizing, hell must have frozen over.'_ She thought to herself. Anxiety ratcheted itself up as she passed by the blonde's yellow bug in front of her house, as she slowed and turned into her driveway. She got out of her vehicle and slowly walked towards the house. She made the decision to discuss this with Emma, _'Open and honest. Always.'_ She repeated to herself. She was nervous, but didn't want to concern the blonde so she steeled her features as she entered the house.

Emma was in the kitchen and when she heard the door came jogging out into the foyer with a huge grin, "Henry called, said he was going over to Nick's tonight to sleep over…" she saw the mayor, who looked positively pissed, then dropped her smile like a bad habit. "What happened?" she said.

"Nothing." The mayor insisted. "You realize Henry is supposed to be grounded?" Regina focused on anything that wasn't her own insecurities.

"Oh. Right. I uh, thought no TV, Video Games and Comics was his punishment, not no Nicks." Emma looked apologetic at possibly messing up her first official punishment of their son.

Regina nodded her agreement to the blonde's decision regarding their son. "Emma may we talk?" she kicked off her heels and put her briefcase down beside the door. Emma went straight up to the brunette and took her cheek in her hand turning her face up to look at her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken your panties, I just thought it was hot."

"I'm not mad Emma." The mayor said shortly. She rolled her eyes and smiled a little trying to put the blonde's mind at ease.

"Good because it was crazy hot!" the blonde exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Regina who instantly melted into her. "You are crazy hot!" she said between pecks down the brunette's neck. After a heated kiss, Regina broke away from the savior and took her hand, and guided her up the stairs. She led her into her own bedroom and sat her on the bed. She started to pace and worry her bottom lip as she thought how to start.

"You're freaking me out just a little babe." The queen shot her a look for using that term once again. "Okay, I know, but what's wrong? Did I do something? Did you change your mind?" Regina stopped pacing and sat down next to the blonde and took her hand in her own, locking their fingers together, she looked into those big green eyes and shook her head no.

"Then what?" Emma swallowed hard, waiting for the worst news ever.

"I'm not used to this." Regina finally said.

"Used to what?" Emma wanted clarification.

"Used to feeling all… wanton and desirable." She knew she was failing miserably at explaining herself properly to the blonde and she rolled her eyes at herself.

"I know." Emma said. She lifted their hands and kissed Regina's softly.

"I don't have much experience, is what I mean." Her face grew red from the admission.

"I know." Emma said as she kissed the back of Regina's wrist.

"I've never been with a woman before." The queen said quietly.

"I know." Emma said as she kissed her inner elbow.

"I am not sure what to do, how to please you." She finally admitted, letting out a large sigh.

"Regina, I'm sorry if I put too much pressure on you, you are so crazy hot that sometimes all my thought processes are run by little Emma, and she has a one track mind." With her free hand she lifted the queen's chin so that she would meet her gaze, "Anything that you choose to do, is going to please me, don't think I have any expectations of you my Queen." Emma had noticed whenever she used the woman's formal titles her eyes dilated in unabashed desire. This time was no different. Emma leaned in and kissed her love softly on the lips, letting the brunette set the pace of what she felt comfortable with. "Tell me what you want me to do." Emma whispered.

"Kiss me." The queen breathed quietly into the small space between them. "Hard. You make me feel like you are hungry for me when you do that."

"I am ravenous for you my Queen." Emma nodded her head to make her point and then she kissed the brunette on the lips, pouring all of her love into it, untangling her fingers from Regina's hand and cupping the sides of her head instead. They kissed until their lungs screamed for air. Both women painting, Emma waited for her next command. "Would you like to undress me?" Regina asked shyly. Emma nodded her head, desire stole her breath and she could not verbalize affirmation. She started unbuttoning the queen's top, her fingers gently caressing newly exposed skin as she went. She unwrapped the satin top from Regina's shoulders, kissing them gently, following her collarbone up to her neck. She gently nipped at her pulse, causing the woman in her arms to gasp.

Emma pulled away from her for a second and divested herself of her own top, showcasing her upper body strength in nothing but a cotton sports bra. Her nipples were rock hard and could be seen a mile away through the thin material. She took Regina's hand and placed it on her, rubbing her palm against one of the hard little nubs. She reached behind the brunette and unclipped her bra, letting it fall loose down her arms. Regina quickly tossed it aside and placed one of Emma's hands on her own breast, mimicking the girl's own movements, feeling what the blonde was feeling. Emma cupped the queen's breast and traced her thumb around the outside of her areola causing her nipple to swell impossibly hard. This produced a gasp from the queen. "Oh gods!" she whispered. Emma swallowed hard, trying to produce moisture in her mouth, unsuccessfully mind you, as all the moisture in her body was focused on one area, and her mouth wasn't it. She tried again, licking at her lips.

"You are so beautiful." She whispered. She looked into the woman's eyes, searching for any apprehension, anything that said 'stop', but saw nothing but desire. "I love you Regina Mills."

Regina groaned as Emma gently squeezed her nipple between her thumb and finger, twisting it just so, causing the woman to arch her back, pushing her breasts out towards the blonde. Emma took the opportunity handed to her to cup the woman's other breast, treating it with the same reverence, care and teasing as the first. "Oh Emma!" the brunette called out into the room as her head dropped back. Emma took advantage of the queen's newly exposed neck and bit down into her, eliciting another moan of pleasure from the brunette. "I… I… want…" the queen was flustered to say the least and couldn't quite find the words to express what it was she desired of the woman. She wanted everything, right at that moment, everything the woman was doing, anything the woman wanted to do, she trusted her completely. Emma released her hold on the mayor's nipples, but kept a hold of her breasts, as she whispered into her ear, "Tell me your majesty."

When Emma released her she felt a sudden feeling of loss, but was able to assemble her thoughts, even for just a moment. "I want you to touch me."

Emma removed one of her hands and placed it on the queen's knee, sliding it up her thigh. "Here?" she asked with a wicked smile on her face. All the brunette could do was nod. Emma's hand wrapped around the queen and unzipped her skirt. "Climb up on the bed." She said gently. As the brunette complied Emma slid herself out of her pants and removed her own bra. She was terribly hot and painfully aroused. She crawled up onto the bed and pulled the skirt down over Regina's hips, exposing the queen in all of her glory. A pink blush colored the brunette's face as she realized she was completely naked before the savior. The blonde kneeling next to her looked like she would devour her at any moment. Sensing the queen's uneasiness with her nakedness the blonde savior smiled brightly then covered the queen's body with her own, meeting her with a fevered kiss.

She nudged her knee between Regina's thighs, pressing her own thigh against Regina's heated apex. This act pulled a moan from deep within the queen, and she bucked her hips unaware, spreading her liquid desire across the savior's thigh. This, in turn, elicited a moan from the savior, who broke their kiss and dragged her tongue down the queen's neck. Nipping and biting as she traversed to her perfect perky breasts. Her mouth encompassed one of Regina's nipples which made the woman arch her back off of the bed violently. Emma restrained herself from chuckling deviously, as she knew it could just end up embarrassing the queen. She suckled the eager nipple, swirling her tongue around the hard little nub until the woman under her was panting and bucking her hips in desire. She let go of her prisoner from between her teeth and bit and licked down the queen's abdomen. Emma's soft, yet strong, hands gripped her as they explored every inch of her body. Every caress was exquisite. Every nip or pinch punched the queen in the solar plexus and she lost her breath in her desire.

She had never in her life felt this yearning, it was indescribable and overpowering. Emma's lips met the trim hairline of the woman's pubic bone; she breathed in her queen's sex, her brazen desire filling all of the blonde's senses. Her fingers traced down the valley where her thigh met her pubis, "May I caress you your majesty?" Emma swallowed hard, once more waiting for permission. Granted in the form of an emphatic nod, Emma took her index finger and traced down the brunette's slit. Regina's body went rigid; she grasped her hands into the comforter on her bed. She spread her legs just slightly, unconsciously. Emma took that as permission to continue. She slid her free hand between Regina's thighs and groaned out as she was met with a lake of desire. "Oh god Regina!" she began to rub her fingers the length of the womans sex. Her hard nub twitching in delight, and every time Emma grazed it, a new gush of desire poured out of the queen.

She didn't have to pull Regina's desire up from her opening to moisten her swollen nub, it was already dripping wet, her curls had caught most of it and as Emma dragged her fingers back down, she covered herself in the slick moisture. She groaned out with approval as Regina's center quivered, producing more natural lubricant. She assumed the queen was far too wound up to be able to stand Emma's mouth on her just yet, so she settled for gentle caressing, the pad of her finger circling the woman's tight opening. Regina pulled her legs up, bending her knees, opening herself before the savior, who lost her breath at the majesty of it all. She ran her fingers up and down sliding over the brunette's tender folds, who was bucking her hips in response, just feeling everything the savior did to her. Deep guttural groans ripping from the writhing brunette on the bed pushed Emma's own desire up towards her peak. "You are so sexy Regina." She gasped.

After several moments of teasing her queen Emma asked, voiced with deep desire, "May I put my mouth on you, your Majesty?"

"Oh gods, Emma PLEASE!" the queen, who would normally have been embarrassed at the needy sound her begging made, currently couldn't care. She would get down on her knees and fully beg this woman if the savior had demanded it.

Emma nestled down between the queen's open thighs. Emma opened the queen with the hand she had been using to rub her, exposing her hot core to the cool air of the room. She leaned in her lips so close Regina could feel her breath on her highly sensitive parts. Emma pursed her lips and kissed the queen, the most intimate of kisses the queen had ever experienced. No one had ever put their mouth on her, not there, and her body jerked into the kiss without her permission. Emma kissed her again, and again, each time keeping contact longer and longer. She slid her tongue out of her mouth, and kissed her sex as if she were French kissing her mouth. Regina released a low guttural groan as Emma took her time enjoying every morsel of her sex. Emma lifted the mayor's thighs and spread them open. "Oh my gods Emma! What are you doing to me?" She took one of her hands and pushed it into the blonde womans locks holding her head steady as she ground up against her mouth. Emma groaned out as Regina's juices dripped down her chin, she circled her tongue around sucking every inch clean.

Regina felt a tension building up in her lower abdomen, she clenched her muscles as she gyrates her hips. "Oh gods don't stop!" she pants, "Please! EM-MA!" Emma slid her tongue down the length of her sex and tried to push into the mayor's tight opening, her tongue met instant resistance. Emma retreated and returned her mouth's attention to the brunette's engorged nub and slipped her hand up, running her fingers in Regina's plentiful slickness. She slowly traced the pad of her fingertips up and down the soft velvet folds of Regina's inner sex, finding the tight opening she dipped her index finger in, just past the first knuckle, slowly, feeling resistance as the tightness of the woman gripped her. Regina gasped at the intrusion. Emma slowly worked her finger carefully, gaining more access; Slowly allowing the brunette time to adjust to being stretched. After a few well timed pumps Emma was able to add another finger into the queen; her walls tightly bound, sucking the savior's fingers deeper into her opening.

She turned her hand so that her fingers were curled up, finding the soft thick ridge just within her opening. She stroked in tandem with flicking her tongue against the queen's clit. The stimulus was too much for Regina to hold on and she crested her peak of pleasure, legs quaking, hanging onto the blonde dear life. She had never before felt such raw awesome power before as it rocked her body thoroughly, causing her to quake uncontrollably.

The one time she had touched herself, just the other day, as great as that had felt, was nothing in comparison to this all-encompassing power house. Emma was certainly skilled at giving pleasure and she wanted to do this over and over and over again. She finally understood what all the fuss was about, this sacred act between two lovers. She wanted to make her love feel this way, always.

Emma had stilled her tongue and slowly removed her fingers from their warm place inside the queen. She kissed the brunette on her inner thigh waiting for the woman to regain her senses. Emma brought the hand that had just been inside her love up to her own mouth and greedily sucked her fingers clean of the queen's nectar. Seeing the churning chocolate eyes start to focus once again, Emma rested herself to the side of her love, throwing her leg over Regina's thighs and bending in close to kiss her lips. Regina groaned again as the exchange started to heat and Emma's hands began to wander over her body once more.

"Mhmm Emma…" the queen voiced, between kisses "I want… to touch… you… my knight…"

"I can't help it Regina you are so sexy, everything about you is so amazing! I want to make you come over and over again. You taste so good!" The blonde slipped her free hand down the brunette's abdomen and parted her lips, dipping her fingers into the sweet nectar of the queen, the touch eliciting a whimper from deep within the queen. Pulling her hand back up and rubbing her newly coated fingertips against Regina's kiss swollen bottom lip. Regina pulled away at first, but then remembered that she trusted the blonde, she parted her lips allowing the intrusion into her mouth. The flavor of herself was not unpleasant, she surmised. She was, in fact, quite sweet tasting; the thought surprised her.

The sight of Regina Mills licking her own juices off of Emma's fingertips sent Emma over the edge, she ground her hips into the woman's thigh, panting heavily into her ear, whispering how sexy and beautiful she was. She came undone gently against the woman then kissed her passionately, re-positioning herself above the queen once more.

Regina's hands slid over Emma's pert breasts, squeezing her nipples as the blonde had previously done to her own. The feel of the savior's soft supple breasts in her hands gave Regina shivers that ran down her spine and goose flesh pop up all over her body. The blonde was grinding her hips into Regina's mound seeking out the friction she so desired. Suddenly the queen rolled them over, gaining the upper hand as it were and kissed the blonde deeply. She broke their embrace and let her mouth travel down the woman's chin, remembering how it felt when Emma had kissed and nipped at her own neck. She bit into the saviors corded neck muscles and sucked the flesh to bruise, thoroughly marking the woman as owned. She punctuated the move by whispering, "Mine!"

"Yes my Queen! I am YOURS!" the savior agreed loudly through her panting. Regina could feel the woman's heart racing below her as if it would jump itself right out of her chest. She settled her ear down above the savior's breast and listened to the sound of it beat. "Mine." She whispered once more. After claiming the savior, she wrapped her lips around one taut nipple, her hand grasping at the other, both hardened under her touch and the savior gasped.

"Regina I'm going to come again if you keep doing that!" the girl barely got the words out before her body slammed into another orgasm, rigidly bucking under the surprised queen.

"Seems I have made a mess of you My Knight." The low rumble of the woman's voice touched the savior in places she didn't even know existed.

"Yes my Queen…" the savior panted in agreement.

"We can't have the White Knight sullied, now can we?" she smiled wickedly as she saw Emma swallow hard as she shook her head no.

The sight of the perfect naked body crawling down her own made Emma whimper. She lifted her hips, helping the queen remove her drenched panties. She watched with hooded eyelids as the queen sat up and looked at her naked sex with innocent curiosity. She finally laid her palm down on the savior's mound and dragged her fingers down, touching just the outside of the womans sex for the moment, watching the cues Emma's body gave her. Emma spread her thighs open, allowing the woman to access, to explore, as she felt comfortable. Everything the woman did to her sent waves of pleasure over her entire body.

"Emma you are so… your body is exquisite." The queen ran her fingers between the savior's lips, feeling the moisture that had gathered there. She lifted her fingers up looking at the thick clear juice that covered her finger tips. She then placed those fingers into her own mouth, tasting the blonde's essence. "You taste different than I do." Emma nodded in agreement. She couldn't speak, the sight of the queen licking Emma off of her own fingers took Emma's breath away.

Taking a page from the savior, the queen asked with a wide grin, "May I put my mouth on you my knight?" the question elicited a strangled squeak and Emma nodded her permission. The dainty queen laid down on her stomach between the savior's sprawled thighs, her dripping wet, pulsing sex exposed and waiting. Regina ran her thumb up, opening the savior before she followed suit with her tongue.

"Oh wow!" the blonde exclaimed as she bucked her hips. She forced her eyes to stay open, looking down at the brown tousled messy haired head bobbing between her legs. The queen had latched onto the savior's nub and was sucking it and her inner lips deep into the warmth of her mouth. It was as if her entire nerve bundle was surrounded by the hot and gentle tugging of the woman. "Holy fuck Regina! YES! That! Whatever it is you are doing right now, don't stop! Holy fuck! Regina!" the woman cried out careful not lose control and grab the back of her head to hold the brunette into her crotch, she was really enjoying the specific movement the woman was doing and didn't want to interfere so she laced her fingers together behind her head and thrust her hips in tandem to the queen's bobbing.

"OH YES OH YES OH YES!" The savior crashed over the edge crying out, mumbling incoherent pleasure ridden expletives. When the queen felt her knight start to peak, she stilled her tongue's movements, but didn't let go of the savior, she just held her, tugging in sync with the blonde's bucking, milking her of every moment of pleasure.

Regina nestled herself up into the savior's arms, resting her head on her shoulder. They lay in comfortable silence, post orgasmic energy radiating off of the couple. Finally Regina spoke first, almost exploding with curiosity, "Was that okay?" she asked shyly. Emma looked down into the worried onyx orbs looking back up at her. "No, it wasn't okay at all my love. It was fucking amazing. I literally am considering calling bullshit on you never doing that before, because if you haven't, you are a natural born pussy whisperer." Regina scoffed at the savior and rolled her eyes, returning to her spot in her love's arms. Emma caressed her chin before lifting it, forcing the brunette to look at her once more. "I have never in my life had an orgasm without penetration. You gave me three. Two of which you weren't even touching my vagina. That is pretty amazing to me. You. Are amazing to me."

Regina swallowed hard and a sheepish smile crossed her face before she spoke, "Well, apparently I've never even had an orgasm before." Her eyes inexplicably teared up and she broke the gaze she shared with the blonde. Emma kissed the top of her head, burying her nose into the woman's' hairline, breathing in the smell of her. She wrapped her strong arms around the queen, cradling her head and holding her tight.

The admission was sudden and Regina felt it hard in her chest. Like a small piece of her inner most self was exposed. She was frightened, but yet happy both at the same time, that she had finally found someone who wouldn't use the weakness against her. It was freeing.

The savior stroked her hair and gently rocked her as she ran through her gambit of emotions, fear, joy, regret, love and finally contentment. She lifted herself up off of the blonde and kissed her passionately, pouring all of her love and admiration into it. It was less needy than their previous kisses had been, and both women were able to enjoy it much more fully. They broke apart and the brunette stared down into the dark green eyes of the savior who asked, "Want to have another one?" both women burst out laughing and Regina melted into her savior, her white knight. Their kissing became more heated and they began re-exploring each other's bodies well into the night.


	11. Chapter 11

Emma heard the front door slam shut and Henry call out into the silent house, "MOMS? I'm HOME!" She looked down at the beautifully naked mayor sprawled out over top of her, and smiled with love and affection, before nudging the queen lightly, "Babe? Wake up."

"I swear, if you keep calling me that…" Regina spoke in a sleepy grumbled voice.

"Later. Henry is home, get up, we are naked." Emma laughed as the big brown eyes snapped open and the queen launched out of bed to cover herself. She threw Emma a pair of PJs and pulled on a pair herself. Emma stood and dressed quickly, noticing the massive hickey on her neck in the mirror and smiled. Regina saw it too and lifted her hand to magically heal her. Emma stopped her, "No, leave it. I'm yours, remember?" She pulled the queen into a passionate kiss. "Oh yes you are." Regina replied darkly. They heard their son bound up the stairs and enter his room. Emma let go of her queen and opened the door to Regina's room to go greet the boy.

"Hey kid, have a good night with Nick?" she asked as she stood in the doorway.

"Yeah, it was awesome, Nick's Dad built this treehouse in the back woods with a secret door and a rope ladder and…" he stopped mid-sentence looking curiously at his mother who stood there in his adoptive mothers pajamas. "Didn't you bring your clothes?" he asked suddenly. A pink tinge crept up Emma's cheeks. 'The kid misses nothing', she thought to herself. "Yeah she just let me borrow these." Emma said absent true explanation. He raised his eyebrow and tried to fit it into the context he had formulated. "So you guys are besties now?"

"Yeah about that, we need to have a family meeting." Emma said careful not to alarm the boy. Regina came up and slipped past her into their son's room. "Good morning darling, how was Nicks?"

"Good. Is everything okay?" he asked his adoptive mother. He was looking suspiciously at the women.

"Everything is fine kid." His blonde mother reassured. "But uh…" she stumbled searching for the words to tell her son.

Regina suddenly spoke up, "How about some breakfast darling?" Emma clamped her jaw shut. "French toast?" Henry asked.

"Yes dear whatever you'd like." Regina kissed their son on his head and instructed him to unpack his bag and get washed up for the day. She exited the boys room and as she did took the savior's hand in hers, dragging her away. Regina shot back a warning glare as Emma started to protest, then finally allowed herself to be led down to the kitchen.

"We have to tell him Regina." Emma said once they were in the kitchen. Regina started pulling the ingredients out for breakfast.

"I know, but let's discuss what it is we are telling him." Regina suggested. Emma smiled and circled around the island center, pulling her love into her arms. "We have found our happy endings, true love's kiss, and happily ever after." She punctuated her love with a kiss to the forehead. The brunette still looked worried. "He is going to think I'm corrupting you." The brunette was visibly shaken and Emma held her tighter. "No, he is going to be happy for us."

"Are you sure?" Regina asked into the blonde's collarbone.

"He is a smart kid, who loves us, of course he is going to be happy for us." Emma nodded at her own sound reasoning.

"No, I mean are you sure you want this? Me? The Evil Queen?" Regina's insecurities of ever being truly worthy of love rose to the surface in that moment, waiting for the savior to answer.

The blonde who had always steered clear of commitment and putting herself out there on the line spoke from the heart. "For all of eternity. I'm so head over heels in love with you I can't ever imagine not being by your side Regina. You are my love, my Queen, the other half of my soul. I've never been so sure of anything in my whole life." She kissed the worried brunette on top of her head. "So, yes, I'm sure, babe." She felt secure, for the first time in her life, she knew she wouldn't be rejected by the woman before her. They shared True Love's Kiss, she knew _exactly_ how the brunette felt about her. She trusted it.

Regina let out an exaggerated sigh and let go of the blonde. "Now you're just calling me that to irritate me." She huffed.

"Yeah, maybe." Emma smiled cheekily.

Regina went back to preparing her family their breakfast as the women heard their son trample down the stairs. "No running young man!" the brunette called out mindlessly and Emma chuckled to herself at the absolute normalcy of the whole thing.

Henry entered the kitchen and saw his blonde mother move away from his brunette mother, both of whom had huge smiles on their faces. "What's going on?" he asked at the archway.

Emma smiled brightly and gestured for him to sit. "Family breakfast." His brunette mother chuckled.

"No, really, you guys are tripping me out. What is going on? Mom?" he directed the question to Regina, but Emma, who sat next to him answered for her. "You know how you are always going on about destiny and true love and happy endings and all that?" his eyes narrowed as he listened to her, "Yeahhh?"

"Well it seems as though your mom and I have found ours." Emma stated plainly.

"Really?" the boy exclaimed, his joy exploding from every pore on his face.

"Both of you?" he asked after a moment looking over at his brunette mother for confirmation. She smiled calmly, understanding he wasn't quite getting it just yet and was worried when he did, this joy would turn to anger. "With who Mom?" he asked her as he already knew who his blonde mother's love was.

"With me." Emma answered for her once more.

"Wait, what?" the boy was clearly confused. "Emma is your true love?" he wouldn't take his eyes off his mother until she started giving him answers. The brunette sighed waiting for the rant that was sure to come. The wait was brief.

"What the hell happened on that island mom?"

"Henry Daniel Mills!" both women exclaimed in unison.

"But, you guys hated each other!" he was trying to work through the information he was just given as quickly as his newly adolescent mind would allow. "Ma, what about Dad? Gran said he was your true love!"

"I did say she was wrong kiddo." Emma said quietly. "And for the record, I never hated your mom. I was scared shitless of her, for a long time, and more so after the curse broke, but I never hated her."

Regina chimed in as well, looking at her love while speaking to their son, "I never really hated your mother either, Henry. I was afraid of her, of what she could do to the curse, to our family." She placed a plate full of freshly made french toast in front of her son who was now quietly contemplating his new family dynamic.

He looked at Emma, "So, you're going to stay here?" she nodded and gestured for him to start eating. "And you both are happy?" he looked at his brunette mother to give away any inkling of doubt. He saw none. The brown eyes looked over to the blonde woman and the corner of her lips twitched up before she looked back at him and nodded. "Are you guys going to get married and stuff?" he asked slyly watching both women go rigid in shock of the question.

Emma was the first of the two to gather her wits so she was the one who answered. "If your mom wants to marry me, officially," she made a point to look into her love's wide brown eyes, "yes, I will marry her, but I don't need a piece of paper to show that I am hers, and she is mine. I am in love with her, kid. Nothing will ever change how I feel." Thick juicy tears crested the queen's eyelids and her savior rushed to her side taking her into her arms. "I love you Emma." Her savior rocked her gently and held her against her chest, smoothing her hair with her palm.

"So we are like a real family now?" the boy suddenly broke in, both women chuckled. "Yes darling, we are." The queen answered for them both. "Cool. Can I have a little brother?" Emma laughed out loud as the queen in her arms gasped. "Not today kid." She patted the woman in her arms, soothing her even further.

"Alright well that wasn't a no. I'm just saying, I want one and I'm not getting any younger you know." He shoveled the last bite of his breakfast into his mouth and put his plate in the sink. He wrapped his arms around his moms, who were still embracing each other, "I love you guys, I'm glad you are happy. Can I go play video games now?" Emma ran her fingers through his hair and gave her permission, watching him run off toward the living room.

Still holding her love who was rather quiet, Emma spoke, "See? You raised him to be ridiculously smart, I knew he'd get it." Regina cleared her throat and asked the question she had, "You didn't say no, to babies." Emma pulled her back and looked at her trying to read her reaction, uncertain if she was pro or anti baby. "That is something we can talk about, Regina."

"Do you want more children?" the queen pressed.

"Honestly? I don't know. Before I was 'the savior', yeah I wanted kids. I wanted the family I never had." She looked into the curiously attentive chocolate eyes. "Then after, I used to worry that being who I am, the savior, or whatever, meant that I wouldn't have that, but now, I have the family, and the kid." She continued, "I love Henry, and our family, exactly the way it is, but" her eyes clouded with regret, "I do feel like I missed out. I mean, I did, miss out on his first words, his first steps, his first day of school." She brushed her knuckles down the side of Regina's face. "If you don't want more, I am perfectly happy with our son. He is amazing to me and he has both of us, the best parts of both of us, and that makes me so happy." She finished her little speech with a kiss to the queen's forehead and a big hug. "I love our family."

The queen was silent, letting her lover hold her together. She had never even considered having more children. Then again, she never considered having True Love either, and here she was in the thick of it. The surprising idea her son put forth, a baby, with Emma, had ignited a grove of thoughts and feelings. It would be much easier with help, she surmised, but Emma was right, being the savior was dangerous, would it be fair to bring an infant into their crazy lives? She decided it wouldn't be something they needed to decide today. "I'll need to think about it." she said soulfully.

"Of course you will my Queen." Emma hummed her contentment and held her love. "Want to see my room?" she asked, suddenly remembering she had it together. The queen nodded her head and allowed herself to be towed upstairs to the savior's bedroom.

The queen sized bed was settled prominently in the center of the back wall, the dresser lined the left side had several of the savior's personal effects displayed. Above the dresser hung frames of pictures, Henry mostly, some of Snow and Charming, and of Ruby and Emma. Candid's and posed shots. The frames matched the coloring of her wooden furniture almost flawlessly, as if Marco had stained them himself. On the night stand next to the bed was a photo of Emma and Regina, taken post curse, during the welcome home party for Snow and Emma's return from the Enchanted Forest. Regina was looking off smiling, probably at Henry, but Emma was looking at her Queen, even then you could see the love in the woman's eyes. Another snippet in time, captured by Miss Lucas, most likely. The frame Emma had was similar to the one she had given Regina the other night. The crest was at the bottom of the frame instead of at the top. Regina picked up the frame, admiring its craftsmanship as she had her own. "I usually loathe my picture taken, but Miss Lucas seems to always catch my good side." She commented. Emma came to her side and wrapped her arms around the queen's satiny hips, "All your sides are your good side my Queen." Regina returned the photo to its chosen location and turned within the embrace. She instantly noticed the bundle of broken down cardboard boxes that were leaning against the wall next to the door. "You unpacked!" she gasped. The blonde head nodded. "I'm home."


	12. Chapter 12

Several weeks went by without incident. Emma avoided her mother in true Swan fashion, not wanting to explain herself or her actions. Both Regina and Emma thought it was a good idea to keep their new found relationship under wraps and asked Henry to do the same. It was none of anyone's business, and frankly, Regina had been concerned that perhaps the townsfolk wouldn't be as open minded about the Evil Queen and the Savior as their son had been. Other than the secrecy, life had been really good, the town was peaceful, no one was causing problems, and the worst thing that had happened was Pongo went for a run for a few hours causing Archie to panic just a bit. Even the lost boys they brought back from Neverland were slowly finding homes and settling down. Life was indeed good.

Emma started to hang out with Ruby once more, forgiving the wolf for jumping to conclusions and they made a deal to always talk to each other before listening to anyone else.

Regina established contact with her once curse-friend Katherine. Well, _Katherine_ established contact by showing up at the mayor's office to talk. As with everyone else, Katherine retained both sets of memories and missed the friendship she had with the queen. "You know what it was like to grow up as a royal, Regina. I've never really been social with people outside the court appointed watchers and caregivers. I miss our friendship. I know, it may not have been real for you, I suppose or for me either," the woman looked sad. "But that doesn't mean we can't try to make something real from here on out." Regina was taken aback by the request, but agreed to try. She admitted to the woman she, too, missed their lunches and they made a date to catch up.

Things were returning to a comfortable normalcy. Both the savior and the queen were content.

Emma and Regina worked with Belle to go through some of Rumple's spell books in search of a permanent solution to keeping the town safe, they found many options, but Regina settled on one of the easiest, more permanent, and less costly spell. The only downside was that no one who was cursed could leave the town, and anyone, like Henry, who did, would have no way of returning. They made the decision that it was what was best, and would talk to their son about steering clear of the edge of town. Most other town people wanted to go to the Enchanted Forest, not the real world anyway, so it truly was the best option. They worked together, and they were able to close the border to the town.

This morning however, Emma awoke early, with a jolt. Something was off. She felt it and it was such a startling sensation she awoke her lover to share in her dismay. They were in Emma's room cuddled together in Emma's bed.

Regina felt it was important to not let Emma lose the bedroom she had wanted for so long, just because they were together now. Sometimes they stayed in Emma's room, sometimes they stayed in Regina's. There wasn't a set schedule, just as the women felt like swapping, they did. Henry had made a sign for Emma's bedroom door, "The room of thee Savior! Trespassers ye be warned!" It was adorned in green and gold glitter and Emma had affixed it to her door immediately, celebrating the savior's sense of home.

"Five more minutes." The queen complained and cuddled closer. "Regina, there is something wrong." The urgency in her love's voice cleared her sleep clogged head immediately. "What is it? Henry?" she sat up. "No." Emma stated definitively, but being unsure of what the problem actually was, back tracked, "I mean, I don't think so. I feel weird. The world, feels weird. Can't you feel it?" Emma sat on the bed looking to the brunette for answers she was uncertain she had. Regina got up and put on the robe she kept in her lover's room and went to check their son. She came back to the blonde looking very confused sitting upon the bed. "Henry is still asleep, it is quite early, not yet 5. What exactly do you feel Emma?" the queen sat down next to her love and tried to comfort her. "You really don't feel that?" Emma looked concerned, more so when the brunette shook her head in the negative. "Tell me love." Regina coaxed and rubbed the small of the blonde's back.

"It is like a power surge, like…" she extended her fingers out into the room and wiggled them, then chuckled, "like a disturbance in the force!" This brought a chuckle to the queen as well, but stopped quickly as a thought crossed her mind. "You were created from True Love, the most powerful magic in all the realms. It stands to reason you, yourself, are incredibly powerful dear. I heard once, a long time ago,"

"In a galaxy far, far away?" Emma goaded, continuing with her Star Wars references.

"If you like, dear." the brunette conceded, then returned to her point. "It was said that magical beings would be able to feel it when other magical beings were created. It was speculated dragons had the ability, as well as unicorns. Being made of True Love, who knows what you'll be able to do."

"So I'm like a magical Jedi?" Emma laughed.

"Yes, young Padawan, it seems as though you are." Regina joined in the saviors fun.

"I love that you get Star Wars references." She kissed the brunette at her side.

"I love that you love me." Regina replied with a smile.

"How could I not, you are sexy as hell, the best cook in all the realms _and_ you like sci-fi?" Emma scoffed at her own question.

"Oh so that is all I am to you?" Regina kidded, "A good cook and a sci-fi geek?"

"You forgot sexy as hell." Emma grumbled hungrily, leaned in and kissed the woman bringing them both back down to her bed.

"Yes, how could I forget?" the queen playfully sniped between Emma's kisses.

"Beats me, your eyes work right?" Emma laughed at her own joke as she rolled her hips against her queen and dove in to kiss the woman on her neck.

That odd feeling that she had felt when she first awoke had started to fade from the savior and as she focused her attention on the love of her life, a fresh pang in 'the force' startled her once again. "There it is again!" She stopped what she was doing and asked the question she hadn't thought of until that moment. "You said magical beings could feel it when other magical beings were 'created', what does that mean exactly?" Regina thought about this for a moment, pulling herself out of her lustful haze to answer the question.

"Like other true love babies being born?" Emma offered, Regina nodded adding, "Yeah, that. Or dragons, or unicorns or Yaoguai, or Fairies, or…" and both women said the last magical being in unison, "Dwarves!"

"Son of a bitch! I knew she wouldn't let it go!" Emma was up and getting dressed when another disturbance hit her hard, she almost lost her balance and had to grip the wooden bed frame to steady herself.

"It is too late to do anything about what they have already created, Emma, but we can stop them from making more. Go to the mines and seal it off magically. The fairy dust is the source of their magic, without it, they are not magical in this land." Regina instructed, Emma nodded at the plan.

"Call David, he needs to know." Emma said as she pulled on her red leather jacket. She bent down and kissed her queen before disappearing in a poof of white smoke.

Appearing at the entrance of the mines, she marched in and grabbed a flashlight from the collection they kept at the opening of the cave. She did a cursory search to make sure no one was inside, took stock of the veins of diamonds lining the walls and the dirt track that lead off into one of the offshoots of the main tunnel. _It appeared as though the fairies had been busy. Who knows how much they were able to mine._ Emma shook her head in anger. Not entirely shocked the nuns had done this behind the councils back, but still angry with herself for not anticipating the move by the overbearing haughty Mother Superior. She exited the cave and sealed it with a warding spell, adding one other spell Regina had taught her some time ago, a proximity trigger spell. If anyone tried to enter, Emma would be notified magically. After her task completed she transported herself back to the manor and informed the queen of the situation.

During their discussion Emma felt two more disturbances, after the fifth she shook her head, "Who knows how many they made Regina! This could be disastrous! I mean, what will we do with them?" Emma started to pace, worry evident on her brow. "How much fairy dust do you think the nuns took from the mine?" Regina asked. "I don't know, maybe the entire tunnel! Who knows how much was in there though!" Emma exclaimed. Regina handed her a mug of coffee and touched the blonde on the forearm to comfort her. "It takes quite a bit of dust to create life, dear, so even if the tunnel you say was full and about how deep?"

"About 30 meters." Emma answered deflated.

"Oh well then they couldn't have more than 10 or so dwarves. I'm sure they are counting on our ignorance to their existence in order to mine more." Regina said confidently. "David seemed surprised, and almost skeptical at the news. I'd imagine he is still having issues separating the fairies 'goodness' from reality."

"That doesn't mean Snow didn't know." Emma mumbled. Just then her spidey-senses kicked off as the alarm spell activated. "Someone just tried to enter the mines. I'll be right back." Before Regina could say a word Emma was gone.

Emma materialized in front of five very confused very short men carrying pick axes. She took out her phone from her back pocket and dialed Regina's cell phone. "The dwarves are here trying to go into the mine." She said without greeting.

"How many of them are there?" the mayor asked.

"Five." Emma replied.

"Good. Find out from them if there were any more eggs and let's get them to safety. I'll call Leroy, I'm certain the dwarves we know have nothing to do with this and will take their new kin in." Regina took charge of the situation in true mayor fashion. "When he gets there, reactivate the trigger on the mine shaft. We need to know if anyone else tries to go down there. Before confronting the moth, we need a binding spell to hold her magic. She obviously has fairy dust, I don't want to take any chances."

Emma nodded her head and asked the first dwarf, who's axe said, Snoopy, "Snoopy is it? Were there any other eggs where you were born?"

Regina chuckled on the line, "Snoopy? Like the dog?"

"No like nosy I think, I assume, I don't know Regina!" Emma said flustered. "Call Grumpy, then call me back." She disconnected the call to her love.

Snoopy shook his head no. "Just me and my brothers." He pointed his axe butt toward the little man to his right, "This is Shifty, Hungry, Jumpy and Doug." Pointing out each man.

"Doug?" Emma asked then shook her head clear of the ridiculous question. "Ok guys we are going to wait here and one of your brothers will come and help us."

"We are supposed to go to work." Jumpy said nervously.

"There will be no work today guys." Emma replied. The men looked disappointed.

"How about breakfast?" It was Hungry that spoke up this time.

"When Grumpy gets here, we will get something to eat, I promise." She said with a smile. All the men nodded as they looked at one another, happy and smiling at the promise of food.

Fifteen minutes later Leroy showed up in a van Emma knew to be owned by the florist in town. He got out of the drivers side and marched over to the savior ready to pitch a fit. Emma lifted her hands, palms out ready to deflect the rant that was sure to follow. "The fairies went behind the council's back Leroy, we did not do this." This information deflated the man who gruffly huffed at her. "What are we going to do to stop this from happening savior?"

"Regina and I are working on a plan. Are you able to take these guys in and care for them?" she asked calmly.

He sniffed as he wrinkled his nose, looking around at the new freshly born faces. "Hear me brothers! In this world, we are not slaves! We are MEN! Come with me and meet your kin!" He addressed each of his new brothers by their given name, 'Doug' being the last to get into the back of the van. He looked up at the blonde savior and shook his head disappointed that this wasn't foreseen. Without a word he climbs into the driver's side of the van cab and started the truck. Before Emma poofed back home she heard Leroy say "Hi Ho! It's off to breakfast we go!" she laughed and disappeared in a fluffy white cloud.

Back at the manor, Emma materialized outside the house and walked in the front door. Henry was now awake and is getting ready for school. She dropped her keys down on the table next to the door and called out to Regina who answered her from her office. Emma pushed open the office door to find Regina sitting on the couch surrounded by open books. Her reading glasses low on the bridge of her nose got pushed up before waving the savior in.

"I found a binding spell that we can cast from anywhere that will bind the blue fairy from using magic until we are able to confiscate the fairy dust." She handed Emma the book she was looking through and Emma read the notes in the margins. "This is temporary Regina."

"Yes well, without the pixie dust, their wands won't work. We will have to keep the mine closed off and only give access to a select few of protectors, people who are trusted to bide the wishes of the council." Regina explained. "Once you enact this spell, I will call an emergency council meeting, they need to know what the nuns have been up to. I did ask your father to be discrete and not inform his wife of the dwarf revelation. I do hope he abides by my warning, otherwise the moth will have warning and you could be walking into a trap." Emma's eyes grew large at the prospect, not trusting David 100% to keep this secret from her mother.

"Okay well, let's do this then." Emma read the spell out loud and blew the writing off the page. The wispy navy blue smoke swirled around and floated out into the world towards its intended target. "How long before I can whoosh in there and shut them down?" Emma asked.

"Go now. I've got Katherine coming by to stay with Henry, I've decided we are keeping him home from school today. Things could get messy and I want him safe." Regina looked up at the blonde hoping for the agreement she received immediately. "News of the new dwarves will be all over town by now, there are three main historical ways to expedite news, the telephone, the telegraph and teLeroy. We need to act quick." The brunette removed her reading glasses and gave Emma a peck on the cheek, "Be safe my love." With that the blonde left her alone once more. She picked up her call tree list and started dialing numbers to bring in the council to chambers.

Emma materialized on the steps of the convent and opened the doors in grandiose fashion. She startled the few nuns that were huddled whispering at the back of the church. The blonde called out "Blue! Show yourself!"

Mother Superior walked briskly over to where the savior had been standing in the center aisle of the church. She quickly and quietly asked the blonde to not shout in the house of god.

"Please Sister, it isn't like you believe all this crap!" Emma was furious that the woman had the audacity to reprimand her. Keeping her voice petulantly loud Emma continued, "I've taken your pet project into custody, the mines are officially closed." The surprised look in the fairy's face told Emma that David had indeed kept the secret from his wife.

"Those dwarves belong to us, you have no right!" she took out her wand and tried to attack the savior, who, with a smirk, grabbed the fairy by her thin wrist and ripped the wand from her grasp. "Sorry Sister, that's not going to work."

"Wait. Emma…" the woman took a new tactic, knowing she had been bound by the savior's magic. Emma twisted the woman around and slapped the cuffs on her behind her back nonetheless. She didn't trust the fairy as far as she could throw her. She was happy Regina had the forethought to bind the woman's magic before Emma confronted her. The thought of living life as a toad or something made her shiver. She looked over at the group of fairies she had startled earlier, "Are we going to have a problem ladies? I've got extra cuffs if we do." They all shook their heads no in unison. "Right. Now, show me where the leftover fairy dust is." She said to the one she was familiar with, the one Leroy had a crush on. Nova, she thought the nun's name was. The woman instantly bowed her head and turned towards the front of the church. She opened one of the benches on the stage and inside was a silky bag humming with magic. Emma lifted it and slung it over her shoulder then addressed Nova once more, "This is all there is?" the fairy nodded humbly making sure not to look back at her superior who was seething, cuffed in the last pew. "I'll be confiscating this to be locked up somewhere safe. The mines are off limits to the nuns now, you all are under orders of the council to cease and desist any and all future attempts at creating more dwarves. Is that understood?" Emma asked loudly.

She walked back to Mother Superior who took on a rather cool appearance suddenly. When she spoke the blood in Emma's veins chilled several degrees. "I can grant you a wish your highness."

"I want, nor need, nothing from you, moth." Using Regina's familiar term for the magical being before her.

The fairy smiled knowingly, "Perhaps," she drawled, "you could wish to absolve your mother's heart of darkness, in exchange allow the rightful natural order to commence."

Emma was shocked, but tried really hard to hold it together. This vile creature knew all too well of her mother's plight, and has sat back and done nothing to help the devoted princess. "As I said, I want nothing from you, Sister."

The woman looked up at her with malice. "The people want a way home Savior! They will not stand for this!" she shouted at her.

"That is not your job your fairyness. That is MY job, and I will find a way for them to do so, but not at the cost of dwarven lives! You were well warned Blue that this was not sanctioned by the council."

"I had our sovereign's blessing Savior!" the fairy shouted. "Snow is our rightful ruler! Our Queen!"

"Oh no, dear." Emma embodied her lovers icy evil queen tone to throw the pixie off her game, "Snow's father _married_ , until Regina is dead or hands over the crown, Snow White is but a mere princess. I don't care what Regina has done to piss in your cornflakes, Sister, she IS the Queen!"

The sprite spat out at her, "The EVIL Queen!"

"Evil or not, she is the rightful ruler of the people of Storybrooke. She has created the council to give voice to the people and the PEOPLE decided slavery is unacceptable! So I bind you, Sister from magic until further notice. The mines are locked down and your little bag here has been confiscated. You're lucky I'm not throwing your bony blue ass in jail for attempted assault on an officer in the line of duty."

She waved her hand and the cuffs come off the thin wrists of the fairy who sat in the pew seething, but defeated. "Give me a reason." Emma said over her shoulder as she walked out of the convent.

Regina led the closed door council meeting, the other members were outraged and appalled at the nun's actions and the mayor did her best to calm them, repeatedly reassuring them the savior had taken steps to strip the Nuns of their power. Making special care to keep referring to Emma as the Savior, and giving the blonde the entire credit for not only the discovery of the nun's plot, but the swift action taken therein. "I assure you this matter has been handled with the utmost care, the 5 new dwarves have taken residence with their 7 brothers and will be taken in and treated like any other member of the town. The nuns have been stripped of their power and the mine has been locked down to prevent further issue." As Regina finished up her little speech David Nolan entered the chamber, his wife in tow. Regina sighed at the man's similarity to his wife's inability to keep a secret.

"Furthermore," the mayor continued, "The savior and I have managed to get the protection spell up around the town, this should put the people of Storybrooke at ease."

"What about finding a way home?" the woman, whom was known to be in the pocket of the Blue Fairy asks aloud, rallying several others to her cause.

"We thought protection of the town was of more importance, but since that has been accomplished, we will look for a way to open a portal to the Enchanted Forest." The mayor said carefully.

It was then Snow spoke up, "I volunteer to help go through Mr. Gold's magical books in search of a way." She said entirely too sweetly. The mayor thought to shoot down the idea, but thought better of it. Many in the town trusted the white princess over her, and she couldn't look as though she were stopping the search for a solution to the portal issue. So she relented, bowing her head, "Meet up with Belle who will show you where to start your search dear." Her dark chocolate eyes met David's blue apologetic ones harshly. "Now if that is all, I call this meeting adjourned." She waited a moment to hear any further issues and when none came forth, she pounded her gavel on the table to close the meeting.

Regina walked up to the Charmings, greeting them each then turning to David as he spoke. "Is my daughter coming?"

"No, but she texted me after confiscating the fairy's dust. I would assume she would be returning to the station soon." The mayor said looking down at her watch.

"What will happen to the fairies?" Snow inquired innocently. Regina knew full well the princess knew what the moth was up to, and most likely assisted her in this illegal activity, however she didn't want to show her hand so she had her mayor mask securely in place, and answered, "Nothing. There is no need to punish Reul Ghorm, or anyone else who helped her, she has already been stripped of her power and the Sheriff has made sure the mines are secure from further theft of town resources."

"Stripped of her powers?" Snow looked shocked. "Is that really necessary?"

"According to your daughter, yes. She texted me saying Reul tried to use magic against her when she got there, so it was a smart move _Emma_ made, when she bound the Mother Superior prior to going. Who knows what horrors that woman would have befallen our _dear_ savior." Regina smiled sweetly as Snow gasped in shock. Turning to David the mayor added, "It seems as though the ploy for a way home was just that, a ploy to gain control of the fairy dust. The source of their magic." David nodded in agreement. "If you will excuse me, I must return home to my son." She nodded to the Charmings and left city hall.

Snow and David walked back to David's truck in silence. Once inside Snow asked him what game he thought Regina was playing with their daughter. "I don't think she is, Snow."

"Of course she is David!" Snow rolled her eyes. "I just can't figure out the play."

"I think they genuinely care for one another." He said quietly.

"What makes you think that?" she snapped.

"Just the way they act around one another, I've seen glances and unspoken conversations between the two. They've grown quite close since Neverland." He started the truck, letting it warm up as they talked.

"No." Snows face showed the full horror of what she was feeling as she whispered her response to her husband's speculation. She shook her head in disbelief. Disbelief, that her daughter could be so taken by the Evil Queen, disbelief that her husband wasn't alarmed by this in the slightest. Instead of speaking her mind to her loving doting husband, she kept quiet her thoughts as a plan took root in her mind. Access to Rumple's magic was exactly what she needed to save her daughter. "David?" she asked sweetly, "Take me with you to the station please? I'd like to see my daughter." David nodded, knowing the sickly sweet tone his wife was using at that moment was anything than it appeared to be, however, he drove them the short distance to the station, sure enough Emma's trademark yellow bug sat out front.

Snow got out of the cab and entered the station with purpose. She walked up to her daughter, who was dutifully doing paperwork behind her large sheriff desk. "Emma sweetie?" Snow paused as she knew she had startled the girl.

"Uh, hi Snow." Emma looked around the woman and saw David shuffling in behind her. "What's up?" She directed the question at her father.

"We heard about what happened with the fairies and I wanted to make sure you were alright sweetheart." Snow softened her gaze at her daughter, trying to make her feel her sincerity.

"Yeah tip top. Anything else? I've got a ton of paperwork to fill out, getting new identities for 5 new town members is quite a bit of work." She chuckled joylessly.

Snow knelt down next to her daughter and put her hand on her arm, "I know now, you were right to warn your father about the Dwarves. I'm sorry sweetheart, for doubting you. I thought you just didn't want to go back to the Enchanted Forest with us,"

"I don't." Emma interrupted. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stand in the way of others going. I'm just not going to let people get hurt or killed because _some_ people want a way home faster. That is never going to happen on my watch Snow."

"I know sweetheart." Snow stood and turned back toward her husband. "I've volunteered to search through Mr. Gold's books for a way we can get home that won't cost _my friends_ their lives."

"Good. Glad to hear it." Emma said shortly. She didn't believe for a second that this conversation was real. She felt the falseness of her mother radiating off the woman with every word she spoke. She wanted to rage at the tiny brunette with the knowledge mother superior gave over freely, but as her queen always said, "Knowledge is power." Snow didn't need to know Emma knew she had been involved, and this was one more thing that lent credence to the woman's darkness.

David guided his wife from the office and bid his daughter a good day, "I'll see you later Emma." He said with a sad smile.

"Thanks Dad." She gave him a warm one in return, and went back to her paperwork as the Charmings left.


	13. Chapter 13

After dinner that night, Henry cleared the table and went up to his room to read, kissing both of his mothers on their heads as he dashed about. Regina took the savior's hand and towed her into her office. "What's this about?" Emma asked as Regina handed her a large manila envelope. "Open it." Regina said as she leaned against her desk. Emma looked at the official document that already held the mayor's signature. "You just need to sign it and it will be official." The brunette said handing her love a black pen. "Really Regina?" the blonde's face couldn't hide her joy. "This means we are BOTH his parents? Like legally?" Regina laughed and nodded. Emma crashed into the arms of her love. "Thank you Regina!" her green eyes filled with tears of joy.

The doorbell rang interrupting their impromptu celebration and Regina pulled from the blonde's embrace to go answer the door. "Don't thank me yet, you do have to sign it you know." The mayor said jokingly over her shoulder.

"David?" Emma heard Regina say out in the foyer as she was leaning over and signing the official document that gave her legal rights to her son. She slipped the paperwork back into the envelope and turned to see her love leading her father into the office. "Hey dad, what's up?" her smile was wide, deep dimples dug into her cheeks as she watched the brunette across the room to stand next to her. Her attention turned to her father as he looked rather upset.

"Is there a way," he looked at Regina as he posed the question, "to rid Snow of the darkness in her heart? I mean, magically?"

Emma shook her head, but Regina squeezed her hand and spoke. "If there is a way, I don't know about it. Rumple would have though." Regina look saddened at the mention of her former teacher's name.

"While we look for a way to make a portal, could we look for a way to cure Snow too?" he asked hopefully.

"Dad, no." Emma said. "All magic comes with a price, you know that! Look, Regina turned herself around, so can Snow. She has all of us to help her. It is time I stopped avoiding her, I realize that I haven't been helping the situation, but that is going to change now, okay?"

"I hear what you are saying," he started, "but she is…" he trailed off uncertain how to put his concerns into words. Emma stood and hugged her father. "It is living with what we have done that makes us strong enough to overcome the obstacles of the future Daddy. We will find another way."

"Emma," the queen spoke up. "we could still look into it."

"You too?" Emma pulled from her father looking hurt that her love was not on her side about this.

"She could hurt Henry." Regina said. Emma walked over to comfort her girlfriend.

"She won't hurt him Regina." She put her hands on the woman's shoulders. "She is still Snow White. She loves him!" Emma insisted.

"I loved my father and still ripped out his heart." Regina replied softly.

"I really wish you hadn't just told me that." Emma closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

"Why?" Regina asked.

"Because I can never un-know that." Emma answered.

"It was the price of my revenge. Revenge that only ended up harming myself." The queen said sadly.

"Hey, don't do that. It gave us Henry, remember? You've changed so much. You are not the Evil Queen. You're not the lonely woman who could only experience hate and anger. It took this curse to break you free of that pain." Her hands traveled down the woman's arms and settled in her hands, completely forgetting they had a guest until David started pacing behind the savior. He was throwing out ideas on how they could help his wife. "There has to be something!" he exclaimed. His blonde daughter settled back down against the desk next to the queen, she had not let go of the woman's hand and that had not escaped the would-be prince.

"Imagine who you would have been if you had someone like David when you first started to darken your heart, instead of Rumple who further perverted it." Tears shown in the savior's eyes at the loss of Regina's innocence.

"I didn't, so it doesn't matter." The queen said stiffly.

"You do now." The blonde said tangling her fingers in between the queen's.

Emma convinced David, and Regina, that Snow fighting against the darkness was the only way, but relented to the idea that as long as they were going through the dark ones notes, it wouldn't hurt to make note of anything that could help Snow overcome the darkness. She promised her father that she would talk to her mother soon. She was still angry about Snow's plan to kidnap her son and her involvement in the dwarven debacle, and had been avoiding her in order to protect the brunette from that anger. He was satisfied with her promise and bid the women good night. Emma called out to him to wait up for her, when he reached the door. She kissed her love on the cheek and told her she would meet her upstairs in a moment.

Emma trotted over to her father who is waiting by the door, she opened it and guided him outside on the porch. The blonde stood and waited, listening for Regina's heels to click up the stairs before speaking to her father. "What is going on?" he asks confused.

"It isn't common knowledge yet, but I wanted you to know, Daddy." Her face was pricelessly happy. "Regina and I are seeing each other."

"I picked up on that." He said calmly, smiling, showing his daughter the support she sought from him.

"Really? When?" She demanded, the blonde thought they had been super careful.

"The night your mother pulled a weapon on Regina down at Granny's." he said still embarrassed his wife had done such a thing.

"Really?" the blonde's eyes grew impossibly wide and her eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. "That was before we even knew!" she hummed with curiosity which made the man chuckle.

"Apparently a father knows sweetheart." His soft eyes showing all of his love for her in that moment.

"I want to marry her." She said plainly. "I didn't think I cared about all that romantic crap, but she completes me in ways I never thought possible." The blonde spoke from the heart. "I'm going to ask her to be my wife."

"My baby girl is getting married!" He scooped her up in his arms and twirled her around on the porch, both laughing at the joyous moment they shared.

When he put her down finally and pulled back from his embrace he asked what she needed of him. "Nothing, I mean I'm not asking for Snow's ring or anything, I think that would have too much baggage to present that to Regina."

"It was my mother's." The man said sadly.

"I know. I just, I want your help to pick out something for her. I want something that is perfect and I know nothing about jewelry Daddy, will you help me?" she asked.

"Of course baby," He cupped her chin and looked her in her dark green eyes. "It would be my honor."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed with a big sigh. "Thank you Dad." He took his daughter into his arms once again and hugged her. They then said their good nights and she returned into the manor and headed up stairs.

A few days had passed after the promise the savior made to her father about talking to her mother and Regina had pushed the girl to make a lunch date with the woman to get the ball rolling. Snow had sounded excited when Emma had called her, sounding like her friend, Mary Margaret, once more. It was decided to meet for a picnic lunch in the park. Emma would come and pick her mother up and they would go and enjoy the sunny, albeit cool, afternoon together.

Once the brunette climbed into her daughter's bug sporting a large basket and folded blanket she went on about how Henry was doing in school. She raved about how smart he was, how he questioned everything and formed his own opinions about the history of this world. "He is quite brilliant." She summed up after her little nervous rant about her grandson was over. Emma pulled into a parking spot when they got to the park and shut off the car. "Regina did a good job raising him." Emma agreed with her mother's assessment of the boy's intellect.

"I miss him." The brunette said quietly. "I miss you as well." She added as she looked up at her daughter.

"I know. That is what today is about. Mending bridges, Mary Margaret." Emma said. She used the woman's cursed name to not only distance herself, but as a reminder that this woman had once been her friend, long before she was ever her mother. Snow White was her mother, but Mary Margaret, was her friend, and today, their talk, needed to be between friends. "Come on, I'm starved." Emma smiled and allowed emotion to shine through her eyes towards her friend.

Mary Margaret chose the perfect spot in the park, just under a large oak tree, chock full of acorns that adorn the ground under it. Emma brushed away a large area with her magic so Mary Margaret could put down the blanket she brought. "You're getting quiet good at that." Her mother praised.

"Regina has been helping me control it." Emma replied. She did not want to talk about the queen with her mother. If her father had picked up on their relationship, her mother would most certainly if they were to talk about the woman in great lengths. Today wasn't the day to discuss that. "I've also been doing some reading on the subject." She added.

"How is house hunting coming?" The brunette asked as she laid out the food she brought and served out a plate for her daughter.

"I was actually thinking about building, honestly." It had been the honest truth, she had yet to broach the subject with Regina, but she wanted to move her family out of the mansion, into something that was theirs. She had always wanted to design her own home.

"Building? Really Emma? That is ambitious." Her mother commented. Emma of course took it negatively, "You don't think I could build a home for my family?" Emma's eyes narrowed expecting an argument.

"No no sweetheart!" the woman back tracked, "I simply meant that would take a great deal of _time_."

"I'm in no hurry." The blonde relaxed.

"I only mean, I'm sure Regina would have a limit on her gracious hospitality." Snow snarked and smiled at her dig into the queen.

"Regina said I could stay as long as I'd like. As I said, I'm in no hurry. I'm quite happy Mary Margaret." Emma said, ending the subject of conversation.

"So where were you thinking about building?" Mary Margaret asked politely. The woman was catching on what was and what wasn't acceptable topics of discussion. Regina was a no go zone for the savior, so the princess kept the conversation geared toward the savior and her future.

"I'm not sure. It was just something I was thinking about. When the time gets closer to a definitive decision I'll let you and Dad know all about it, I'm sure." Emma said, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"Emma sweetheart? Why do you call David Dad, but you either call me Snow or Mary Margaret?" her mother asked quietly. Jealousy evident not only in the woman's words but also her face.

"I'm still pissed at you, I guess." Emma answered honestly.

"Still? For trying to set you and Neal up months ago?" Mary Margaret's shock was clear and a residual anger hung between the women.

"No. Dad told me about your plan to kidnap my son to the Enchanted Forest." She said plainly.

"He WHAT?" the woman raged.

"Don't do that!" Emma yelled at her mother. "Don't get pissed off at him because he is worried about you! You are in the wrong on this Snow, and somewhere inside you I have to believe you know that, otherwise I can't forgive you." Emma lowered her tone to almost a whisper at the last part of her sentence. The brunette sat quietly, seething about her husband's betrayal sure, but also thinking about what her daughter was saying to her. "We are all worried about you Snow." Emma said after a moment of letting the brunette take in what she was saying. "That is why you and I are sitting here today. I've come to you with a peace offering. I want you in my life Mary Margaret, but I need to be able to trust that my son will be safe around you and right now I don't trust that."

"You mean Regina doesn't trust that." Snow said spitefully.

"No, I mean I don't trust YOU, Snow White! I know you gave Blue the royal okay to go behind the councils back and create more dwarves, you had no right to make that decision!" Emma's words were angry.

"I am Queen, Emma! I had every right!" the brunette countered.

"You are a school teacher, Snow! A princess maybe in another life, but you have never been Queen. Your father married Regina, and until she hands over the crown she is rightful ruler of a land in another realm. In THIS realm, she is the mayor of this town! I am the law. My job is to enforce the rules handed down by the council. The council Regina created to give voice to the people. She doesn't run Storybrooke like the royals of your world Snow. We live in a democracy! You need to understand the rules apply to you as well Princess! Stop being such a brat!" Emma's words were sharp and they cut her mother deeply. She ended her rant and stared at her mother for her reply. A reply that didn't come.

"I realize you are not seeing things clearly, Mom." Emma looked down as she spoke her mother's title in order to grab her attention.

"What do you mean I'm not seeing things clearly?" Snow spat.

"Your heart." Emma sighed, "When you murdered Cora, or more specifically, when you manipulated Regina into murdering her own mother. It darkened your heart. That darkness is growing. It's clouding your judgement."

"Don't be ridiculous Emma, I am perfectly of sound mind." Mary Margaret defended her own actions to her daughter.

"My mother, would never use my son to manipulate me." Emma said quietly. "I need you to start to fight this. I believe you can overcome this darkness. You have a support system, David, me, Rubes, the dwarves. We all love you Mary Margaret. We will all be here to help you through this." Emma put her hand on her mother's shoulder to accentuate her support.

Mary Margaret rested her cheek down on the back of her daughters hand. "Okay. I'll try." She said quietly.

"That is all I ask for Mom." Emma said with a satisfied sigh.

Her blonde daughter dropped her off in front of her apartment building after a rather unpleasant afternoon lunch in the park. She waved as the yellow bug pulled away and as soon as it is out of sight Snow's smile faded and she entered her home. David was waiting for her in the living room eating a bowl of cereal in front of the TV. "How'd it go?" He asked with a mouthful of captain crunch.

"As well as to be expected Charming." Her voice was colored with that sickly sweet tone David associated with Snows darker side.

"Bad?" he prodded his wife.

"No." she lied.

She moved into the kitchen and put a kettle on for some tea. "I'm considering proposing a solstice ball this winter, what do you think?" the change in subject startled the man, but being David Nolan, rolling with the punches is just what the man did, he considered the idea and nodded his head as he swallowed his previous bite of cereal. "I think that would be a great way to rally the town. Good idea honey." He said with a smile. "I think we should forego the normal tradition of ladies choice this year." She said as she poured them both a cup of hot tea. "Why is that honey? Afraid I'll say no?" he laughed at his own joke and took the tea cup his wife offered him.

"No, I just don't think Emma would ask Neal just yet, but if given the choice, I think he will ask her." She said with a wide smile.

He sighed, he had hoped his wife had given up on this line of thinking as Neal hadn't been mentioned in weeks. "I'm pretty sure that even if Neal asked our daughter, she would decline." He chuckled to himself absentmindedly. "What do you know Charming?" the princess picked up on his tone immediately and demanded he spill whatever knowledge he possessed.

"I don't know anything!" he lied. "I just suspect our daughter has her eyes set elsewhere." He knew very well Emma didn't want her mother to know about the pending engagement, but if he hinted at a possible relationship, perhaps his wife would drop the Neal idea completely.

"Who?" The princess demanded. He knew he couldn't tell her nothing, the danger that shown in her green eyes attested to that. He decided that the truth would come out sooner or later anyway. "I think she maybe interested in Regina." He said trying to sound casual about it.

Snow turned her back on her husband and steeled her emotions regarding this knowledge before turning back around towards him. "Has she said something?" she asked point blank.

"No." he lied once more. "It is just a feeling."

"And you are okay with this?" she asked coolly, her emotions locked down tight.

"I'm okay if she is happy, Snow." He replied honestly.

"That woman…" she started,

"Has changed." He interrupted her.

"Was my step mother David!" her voice grew louder than she had wanted it to. "It is gross!"

"She is only a few years older than you Snow!" he defended the queen, still a little shocked he was sitting there defending the queen to his wife.

"She still had sex with my father!" she exclaimed with a grimace.

"You think she wanted that?" he rebutted shutting down his wife's argument. "Listen, I don't know, maybe they are just friends, they have Henry in common and Neverland was stressful, maybe that is all it is. I'm just saying, don't be surprised if it happens." He said as he stood and put his empty bowl in the sink. He pulled his wife into his arms, her body was shaking. He noted that perhaps the news of his daughter's love interest hadn't been in the best idea he had ever had and slowly rocked her until she relaxed in his arms.


	14. Chapter 14

David met Emma down at the station, both of them had the day off and had decided that was the day they would have a little Daddy-daughter time and go ring shopping for his daughter's girlfriend.

Emma had taken on both Tinkerbell and Neal Cassidy as deputies in training, the pay was crap, but it was an easy job. They basically split the pay of one fully registered deputy, and were glorified phone answerers. Regina found the money in the budget and tossed it the sheriffs way as soon as Emma asked for it. This gave both David and herself the time they desperately needed away from the job, and gave both newcomers to the town something to do, with a bit of cash to live on.

Tink had been scheduled in that day, and Regina was busy at the office, so Emma proposed her father a shopping trip. He greeted her with a large warm smile and a big hug, he had been looking forward to this since the night she told him of her plan to propose, which already had been over a month ago. It was already early December and although there had been no snow as of yet, the Maine air was crisp.

Things between the Charmings and their daughter had settled quite a bit. Emma often brought her son over to her parents for dinner, and she and Snow's relationship seemed to be repairing the damage that had been caused that fall. Everyone believed things were getting back to normal.

They drove downtown in David's truck, Emma said she didn't want her bug being spotted and word getting back to Regina. "So when are you going to tell your mother?" David asked.

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "You think she can handle it yet? I think she has enough to deal with right now."

"You'll need to tell her before you walk down the aisle Emma." He laughed at his own joke.

"Do I have to?" Emma feigned ignorance and laughed at her father's jovial attitude toward the situation.

"That is probably a good idea honey, Snow would never forgive you for not letting her help you plan your wedding." The corners of his mouth quirked in a slight smile.

"She has to say yes first, Daddy." She was suddenly sullen.

"You think she won't?" he asked point blank. "I mean, you're asking her, so you must know she cares enough about this thing you two have."

"It's Regina Daddy. I mean, I know she loves me." She looked down at her fidgety hands in her lap before she spoke next, "It's just, I'm nervous."

"Is this nervousness about who _Regina_ is or is it about who _you_ are sweetie?" her father asked gently.

"Probably a little of both." She answered honestly. "I mean, I'm a commitment-phobe, but I've got good reason to be. I've never felt surer of a relationship. Never felt so… home, as I do with her, you know?" He nodded his understanding and let her continue. "Regina is, well, Regina, you know? She hasn't had anyone in her corner before and I think she is scared to death that she is going to wake up one day and this thing we have will be gone. Almost like she is expecting it. I'm just scared she will say no out of fear." She huffed finally. Her father hummed in understanding.

"She is my true love Daddy." Emma smiled brightly, revealing this secret that has only been discussed within the Swan-Mills family household.

"You shared true love's kiss?" he exclaimed almost veering off the road.

"DAVID!" Emma yelled as he pulled back over into his own lane. "Jesus Daddy!" she said laughing.

"Emma! That is amazing!" He shook his head, "Imagine, true love with Regina Mills." He said.

"She deserves her happy ending Daddy." Emma's smile was wide as she thought of her true love.

"So do you, baby." He said lovingly. "I'm really happy for you sweetheart." He pulled the truck into a parking spot and put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "This is going to be one hell of a love story." He chuckled and they both got out of the truck.

They went into the jewelry store and walked up to the counter. Emma pulled out the designs she made of the ring she wanted to craft. It would take a week to create the old woman behind the counter informed her as she peered at the designs. "Would you like an engraving sweetheart?" the woman asked as she filled out the order form.

"Yeah," Emma said shyly. "Just put, Swan's Queen. Yeah. Just like that." She directed the woman. She looked back at her father, "Yeah I know it is cheesy, but it is kind of a thing we do." She rolled her eyes at her own romantic sentiment.

"You're talking to prince charming, you realize that right? Mr. I'll-always-find-you?" David said with a laugh. "I am the prince of cheese." He added.

"Well it looks like I come by it naturally then, don't I?" she wrapped her arm around his lower back and slid under his arm, nestling into shoulder. "You think she'll like it Daddy?"

"I think she'll love it baby." He kissed her on her forehead thoroughly enjoying being his daughter's father, even for the briefest of moments. He treasured every time she called him Dad, he knew she used the term 'Daddy' to make him feel like he hadn't missed out on being one to her. He loved every time she asked him for advice, every time she was just his daughter.

Emma pulled out the second set of sketches for her own ring, it matched Regina's but was also much more, Emma.

"You really put a lot of thought into this didn't you sweetheart?" He asked as he looked over the design. She nodded shyly. "They suit you both, but yet look like they are a set. You did a really good job baby girl." He handed the sheets of paper over to the older woman who took out a new order form for the second ring.

"An engraving for this one?" the woman asked as she got down to that part of the order form.

"Yeah," Emma said and cleared her throat. "Her Majesty's White Knight" her father squeezed her tighter in his embrace as he understood she was sharing something very personal of herself, of her relationship with the queen, with him.

"Both rings will take a week to complete each. How will you be paying dear?" the woman asked politely. Emma fished out a credit card and laid it down on the counter. "Will that be a partial payment or full?" The woman clarified.

"Might as well throw it all on there, I won't be changing my mind." Emma smiled brightly. "Oh Dad? Can we put your phone number on there, I don't want them calling when it's done and Regina seeing."

"Good idea honey." He said as he relayed his cell phone number to the woman behind the counter.

"Thank you for letting me be a part of this Emma." He said when they got back into his truck. Emma knew how much it meant to the man, and it meant a great deal to her as well. "You've missed so much Daddy, I don't want you to miss anything else." She said with a shrug. "So now I've got two weeks to work up the courage to ask her. I want it to be perfect." She said nervously. He pulled out of the spot and drove them back down to the station. "What did you have in mind honey?"

"I have, literally, no idea." She shook her head blankly.

After he dropped his daughter off his phone rang from a number he didn't recognize. He pulled the truck over before answering the phone, "Hello?"

"David?" the familiar accent of Belle rang through the phone.

"Belle? Is everything okay?" It was peculiar for her to be calling him directly, they often relayed information between them through his daughter, his wife or Regina.

"I'm not sure David, would you mind coming down to the library?" she asked nervously.

"I'm on my way." He flipped the truck around as he disconnected the call and was in front of the clock tower library in under 10 minutes.

He opened the doors and scanned the nearly empty place for the familiar auburn haired woman who had called him. Belle was stacking books along the back shelf and he strode directly to her. "What is going on?" he asked much too loudly for a library as a nearby student shushed him before returning to her studies. Belle led him away from the people who were utilizing the libraries reference materials, and into a back office he hadn't even realized existed.

"It's Mary Margaret." She said as she closed the door behind them.

"What about her?" he asked, worry flooded his voice.

"As you know, she has been going through Rumple's magic, supposedly looking for something to create a portal back to the Enchanted Forest." He nodded silently hoping she would get to her point quickly. "It is the reference materials she has been asking for, David. It makes no sense. Then a week ago she stopped coming altogether. The book she checked out, has nothing to do with portals at all."

"What does it have to do with?" David asked quietly. A sinking feeling was settling in the pit of his stomach.

"Potions, mostly. Weird freaky dark magic." She replied honestly.

"Do me a favor?" He asked with urgency. "Don't give her any materials."

"She has had unlimited access to Rumple's shop David, I've been trying to catalog everything, but he had his own way of doing things that doesn't always make sense to me. She hasn't asked for anything other than the books, but I can't be certain she hasn't taken anything. Like I said, I haven't seen her back here in almost a week." Her big blue eyes held his concern. "Is she alright David?"

"No." he said sadly. "Damn, Regina." He whispered, then asked, "This potion book, is there anything deadly? Like poisons?" he feared for Regina's life at this point, not putting anything past his wife for she was clearly still not herself.

Belle shook her head, "No, not that I'm aware of, but I honestly doubt it. If I remember correctly, it was glamour spells and mind trickery. Honestly David, that is why I phoned you. It is just weird."

"Thank you Belle, you are a true friend." He rose to his feet and shook her hand. "I'm sure I don't have to say not to mention this conversation to Snow. I'll get to the bottom of it."

"Let me know if there is anything I can do David." Belle smiled sweetly, all the compassion she held for the royal couple evident across her face.

Back out in his truck his cell phone rang. It was his wife. Before pulling out of the parking spot he answered it, unsure of how to handle the problem he suddenly knew he had. Snow had been lying to him for at least a week about her whereabouts, longer still about her reasoning for searching through the dark one's magic. "Snow?"

"Hi David, could you stop at the store on your way home and pick up some milk? Emma is bringing Henry over tonight for dinner and I want to make hot chocolate." She asked sweetly.

"Sure." He said shortly. Unable to keep his tone in check, and she saw right through the little word he spoke.

"What is wrong David?" she asked.

"Where were you today?" he shot back.

"At Gold's shop, where I've been almost every day? Why?" her annoyance being poorly masked shone through her words.

"Enough Snow. Where were you _really_?" He knew he didn't want to do this over the phone, but fear for his wife, for his daughter and her family gripped him hard and he couldn't stop himself.

Silence on her end of the line greeted his question. He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked to make sure he was still connected before speaking again. "So? What have you been doing Snow?"

"Come home David and we will talk. Don't forget the milk sweetheart." She said coolly and the line went dead.

Emma pulled into the driveway of her home, she was reverberating happiness after the afternoon she spent with her father. Regina had been the one to pick up their son that afternoon and had beat her home even though it was only 4 pm. Just after her father dropped her off at the station, she had gotten a call from her mother asking for her and Henry to come over for dinner. She begrudgingly said yes and quickly informed her girlfriend of the plans.

Regina seemed accepting of the arrangement, getting Snow White's heart back to being all pink and plushy had been a priority to the safety of their little family so whenever the princess called, her knight and her son rode off for quality Charming time.

Before she could enter the house Emma got a text from her mother.

 _Mary Margaret: Could you two stay over tonight? I really miss our movie nights._

Emma crinkled her nose, not really wanting to sleep over at her parents house, but knowing Henry would jump at the chance for movie night with Gran and Gramps.

 _Emma: Yeah sure, see you soon._

She turned off her phone and shoved it in her pocket and went to go tell her queen the bad news.

"Em-ma! Really? A sleep over? I protest! I couldn't possibly sleep without you next to me!" Regina whined in true royal fashion. Emma giggled at how totally cute the woman was being. "Your objection has been noted your majesty. I love you Regina, so much!" she kissed the brunette deeply "I'm going to miss you more!" she added with her own whine.

"It isn't possible Swan!" the queen pouted.

"I'll be sharing a bed with your son, do I need to remind you the kid kicks in his sleep?" she exclaimed.

"Oh he is MY son when he kicks!" the queen threw her hands in the air.

"Yes!" Emma laughed. "He is MY son when he is clever and awesome." She booped her queen on the tip of her nose.

Regina wrapped her arms around her knight and buried her head into her chest. "What ever will I do with myself while you are gone?"

"I'll be back early." Emma hummed as her queen stroked her lower back.

"I've got a ridiculously early meeting tomorrow! That means I won't see you until dinner time!" The queen resumed her pouting, "I'm not going to make it Swan, shoot me now. Put me out of my misery!"

"You have to make it my queen, Snow's cooking will probably kill me tonight and you'll need to go on for our son." Emma jested.

"This separation has been deemed inhumane by the mayor's office and shouldn't be allowed." Regina tried one last time. "Don't go baby."

"I already said yes. I'm going to tell her about us tonight, so next time…"

"Next time, won't be a next time because your mother will have disowned you?" the queen smiled brightly.

Emma shook her head.

"Next time won't be a next time because your mother will come over here and kill me in my sleep for defiling her daughter nightly?"

Emma laughed, "I'm pretty sure it was me who did the defiling your majesty."

"True." Regina nodded in agreement. "You aren't going to make me go with you next time are you?" she asked seriously.

"I was considering it." Emma laughed. "Come on… you like David!"

"I like vegetables and it would be painful to see the crime scene aftermath of what your mother will do to poor broccoli."

Emma laughed at her lover's snark. "I told you that in confidence."

"Well I wish you hadn't. I have nightmares." The queen pouted.

"Fine. You won't be subjected to family dinners with my parents at their house. How about we host? Would that make you feel better?" Regina nodded silently, pressing further into her lovers arms.

After holding her queen for several moments, just enjoying their closeness Emma looked at the clock and decided they had enough time for her to broach the subject she had been mulling around for a while. "Hey can I ask your opinion on something?" she said seriously.

"Of course dear, I always have an opinion, wanted or not." She chuckled at herself.

"How attached are you to the manor?" Emma asked quietly. Regina pulled back enough to look her love in the eyes, but not so far as to break their embrace. "Why?"

"I've been thinking." Emma said.

"I can see that dear." Regina quipped.

"I thought we could, I don't know, build our own house." Emma laid it out. "Something that is ours."

Regina nestled back into her savior's chest hiding the glowing joy she knew was on her face and she hummed, teasing the blonde just a little before agreeing emphatically. "Our house, huh?" the queen bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing as she felt Emma's nervousness. Unable to let her love twist she pulled back and smiled wide. "I think that is an amazing idea." Emma let out the breath she had been holding and hugged her queen, lifting her off the ground and spinning her.

"Seriously?" Emma couldn't contain her happiness, she lifted the brunette again guiding her legs to wrap around her own hips and kissed her. "Fuck I love you!" the queen lost herself in their happiness giggling at how juvenile they must seem, but really didn't care to stop, it felt so good to love Emma Swan. She decided right then, she wanted to spend the rest of her life feeling this way with this woman. She buried her head into the tangled blonde locks of the savior and whispered into her ear. "Mine."

"Always." The blonde whispered back.

Emma and Henry arrived at her parents apartment a little later than she said she would be, the savior had just as much trouble letting go of her queen as the queen had letting go of her knight. Emma noted an uneasiness within the apartment as she entered. Her father was sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand. It was unusual for him to be drinking, more so, alone. Snow was full of smiles and hugs and kisses, she was acting, well not odd, but overly affectionate and it put Emma on edge.

"Let's sit down to dinner before it gets too cold." Snow exclaimed. "Henry go wash your hands please." She added.

Emma sat on the couch's arm next to her father and waited for the boy to wash his hands. "Daddy are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"Huh? Yeah." His short replies bothered Emma, but she didn't quite know why.

"Is Snow okay?" she prodded him. "She seems a little touchy-feely."

"Oh yeah, she's great." He lolled his head and rolled his eyes. Emma realized her father was drunk. She couldn't think of a time, ever, she has seen Prince Charming even close to being buzzed, let alone drunk. She stood and left her father to his odd behavior.

"Is everything okay Snow?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"Of course it is sweetheart." Snow White practically sing-songed her answer to her daughter. Just then Henry bounded down the stairs with a grin.

"All clean!" he held up his hands for inspection, as if any of the adults present would mistrust him enough to check his work. Emma pulled out a chair and guided the boy down into it, sitting next to him at the table.

"David honey, dinner is ready." Snow cheerfully called to her husband. She dished out the meatloaf, mashed potatoes and the poor, pale, over-cooked broccoli to each of her family members. Henry cleared his throat and looked at Emma who held the laugh she had welling up inside of her at her lover's assessment of her mother's vegetable massacre. She quickly shook her head and her eyes silently told the boy to eat everything on his plate, she would make it up to him later.

Shortly after her family finished their dinner Snow moved their unconscious bodies into the living room to perform the remainder of the spell on each of them.

David had been the hardest of them all to move and she ended up just dragging his dead weight across the wood floor.

Snow went back into her bedroom and lifted the basket of ingredients and of course the book she had been working from. She had spent years of her adolescence watching her stepmother practice the dark art and had a decent grasp of how it worked. She had also gained much experience practicing with the blue fairy as of late. It certainly helped that Rumpelstiltskin took impeccable notes. She had practiced on her best friend Ruby just the other day, forcing the girl to forget who Sidney Glass was. She had spent the entire summer last year working closely with the man on a little advice column, 'Ask Red'. Snow figured it was a good trial to see how thorough the spell worked, and how much it had changed the girl once she forgot him. The change was subtle, unlike when Snow, herself had taken the potion to forget her love. She found the risk acceptable and had decided to move forward with her plan.

She had rented Emma and Henry an apartment in town, close by. Tomorrow she had the help of the 12 dwarfs to assist her with breaking into Regina's home and move her daughter and grandson's belongings out to the new apartment.

Her daughter's transformation would be the most tricky to pull off. Not only would she would be forgetting her girlfriend, if David was right and Emma cared about the Evil Queen, but she would be rewriting her daughter's relationship with her son. Snow had first-hand knowledge on how such a thing can fundamentally change a person. Emma's change, unlike Ruby's, will most likely be noticed by the town. Snow had taken precautions for that however. People will be too busy to notice the sudden odd behavior of their Sheriff. Of course Emma's changes wouldn't be anywhere near as obvious as her own experience had been. David was her True Love after all.

In addition to erasing the relationship her daughter had forged with the queen, Snow also had to create false memories for her daughter. Emma would be forgetting about Regina in her entirety. That meant the history of how her son entered her life would need to be rewritten. Snow had decided that instead of being adopted by Regina, the boy had been placed within Storybooke's orphanage and retrieved knowledge of his birth mother through Mr. Gold which prompted his search for his mother. The fact that Emma would have never allowed her son to live in the system would play out well and Snow surmised that Emma's own nature would fill in the rest of the fake history for her.

The erasure of Regina from Emma's life needed to be complete. Snow didn't want to take any chances that the two would somehow create a new friendship. Yes a complete memory wipe was the only way to go. Their entire last two years together. It was a major overhauling, if Rumpel's notes were accurate, but Snow was confident she could pull it off.

Henry would be the second hardest of the three to alter, she was essentially erasing his entire life, forgetting the mother who raised him. Snow had given this situation some serious thought on how she could work around the boy losing all of the memories he had ever had. She decided that false memories of an accident, a singular event that would explain the sudden amnesia would be much easier to accomplish than rewriting the boy's existence within a non-existent orphanage. He would remember waking up in the hospital with his grandmother by his side. Of course the memories of her, of Emma would all be intact and the boy would just accept his new life as if it had always been this way.

She has also taken the meddling queen into account. She will be removed as Mayor of the town due to, among other things, treachery. It seemed fitting, Snow thought. The start of which would keep the Mayor busy while Snow moved everything into place, she had planted indisputable evidence within the mayor's office for the council to find, everything from funneling money to being behind the fairy's plot to harness their magic. They would run the woman out of town, just as Snow had been run out of her home once upon a time.

Her dear sweet husband would be the easiest to manipulate she thought. He would need to forget about his little discovery which had caused their earlier problem that evening. The spell she cast on him reduced his faculties, temporarily of course, made him pliable until her daughter had shown up for dinner. David would also need to forget that Regina and Emma had ever been a thing, however erasing the queen entirely from her husband's memory would be way more difficult as their history was extensive so she had settled on just a portion of his memory to focus on erasing. All in all, the plan she had painstakingly concocted was coming together quite nicely.

As Snow finished up the last of the spell she noticed her daughter's phone was alerting text messages. She picked up the phone and checked them.

 _Crazy Hot Mayor: Hope you two are having fun with the Charmings_

 _Crazy Hot Mayor: I'm off to bed, it sure is empty without you my love_

 _Crazy Hot Mayor: I miss you my white knight :( xxo_

Snow White frowned at the messages she read, she scrolled up through their past texts and her anger grew. If she had any doubt about the plan she had initiated, this certainly cleared the path to righteousness for her. She smashed her daughter's phone against the wall in a blinding fit of rage, rendering it useless. A new phone for her daughter, with a new number, would be the first thing she did in the morning.

She reigned in her anger and completed the delicate spell work on her family, righting the wrongs that had strayed them all from the path of good. She brushed a blonde strand from Emma's motionless face, her beauty had been passed down to her from Snow White's own mother, her bravery from Prince Charming. She was so proud of this woman she called daughter, this was all for her, for her happiness. So much has gone wrong in the women's short life, this would fix all of it.

In addition to the actual spell she cast she added subliminal thoughts to her daughter about true love and Henry's father. Her happy ending, finally being shown to the light.

Once the spell was complete Snow cleaned up the mess she made with the potions and put all of the magical paraphernalia away. She rearranged everyone, positioning herself and David as the loving couple on the floor, more because she couldn't lift him, and her daughter and grandson on the couch. Everyone got blankets and pillows and other than the fact they were all unconscious, it looked like normal movie night at the Charmings. She then popped a movie into the blue-ray player, Sin City. It was one of Emma's favorites. She skipped ahead about 45 minutes and settled down for them to wake up to a new world where her family would be happy and the Evil Queen would be on the run. Snow smiled contently as she cuddled up to her husband and waited for her family to wake.


	15. Chapter 15

Regina Mills woke to her alarm at an ungodly 6 AM setting. She looked at her phone and was disappointed she hadn't received a message from Emma. It was odd, but she figured the woman was spending time with her family and perhaps fell asleep watching the movie they had intended on seeing. No doubt bored to unconsciousness by whatever sappy lovey-dovey movie Snow White had chosen for them that evening. She opened her text messages and shot her love a good morning greeting, then got up to get ready for work. The day ahead would prove to be a boar to deal with if her meeting schedule was any indication. She would be out of the office for a bulk of the morning tied up down at the docks going over plans Mr. Fischer had laid out for the wharf expansion. She was required on site that morning so she wore warm clothes. December was an unforgiving month in Maine.

Snow was out of the house early that morning as well, picking up a new cell phone for her daughter and organizing the dwarves to move Emma and Henry into their new place. She had their unwavering loyalty as they had no idea her part in the creation of their 5 new brothers. Workers by design they made quick work packing up and moving the two rooms. Snow of course supervised. She went over the house taking anything that could lend a clue to the relationship the queen had with her daughter, including a photo she found in the Evil Queen's bed chamber. Snow entered the queens office and went through her paperwork removing everything that tied her legally to Henry, the woman may fight for him and she didn't want to make it easy on her. She found the legal document where Regina had reinstated Emma's parental rights fully. "Stupid woman." She snarked as she shook her head and smiled. Regina had unwittingly made the legality of the whole thing much easier for Snow.

On her instruction they left the furniture and only packed up their personal effects. Snow had already furnished the apartment her daughter and grandson would live in and didn't want any reminder, subtle or not, of their time in the mansion. She did however take the savior's bedroom door sign. She could tell it was something Henry had made for his mother and it would be something that the blonde treasured of her son.

Once the house was devoid of everything Snow stood in the kitchen and took a satisfied deep breath, laying down a note she had pre-drawn up for this special occasion. Four words, clear with intent:

 _It's over. Stay away._

She left her daughter and grandson's keys on the note and walked out of the house.

Emma was just getting up when her mother returned from her busy morning. Her head ached and she felt almost hung over. She was having a hard time remembering what had happened the night before. She came down stairs and was greeted by her smiling mother with a cup of black coffee. Emma took the offer and grimaced. "Thanks." She grumbled.

"I hope you aren't angry sweetheart, I replaced your phone this morning while I was out." Snow casually said. Emma was sitting on the couch looking a little lost. The Blu Ray case for Sin City was open on the coffee table and she suddenly remembered movie night. 'Right. Passed out on the couch after dinner, woke up halfway through Sin City, took the kid and went to bed.' She sipped more of the bitter coffee in her hand.

"Honey?" her mother called.

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear me about your phone?" Snow asked sweetly.

"No, sorry, what happened?" Emma's face looked pained as the headache within her skull pounded.

"Your phone broke last night, I went down this morning and got you a replacement. It is exactly the same, just a new number. They couldn't port the old one for some reason, I thought you'd be upset, but there wasn't anything they could do about it. I'm sorry honey." Snow seemed apologetic and Emma waved her off. "No, that is fine I guess. I only use the damn thing for work anyway." She said absently.

"So I thought we'd go to Granny's together this morning, it is Neal's day to take Henry right?" Snow guided.

"Neal? Uh…" Emma couldn't think.

"I spoke with him yesterday sweetheart, he is taking Henry so we can do some finishing touches on your apartment. Are you okay honey?" Snow asked, her face masked with concern.

"I have a headache is all. I must have slept weird on the couch last night and pinched something in my neck." Emma rubbed her forehead with her fingertips and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, she had always been prone to migraines. "It's just making it hard to think."

Snow brought over several aspirin for her daughter with a glass of water. "Here, take this, it will help. Don't worry about Henry, I'll get him up and ready, you just take it easy sweetheart."

"Thanks Mar- Uh- Mom." Emma stumbled. Contributing her stumble to her headache, she laid back on the couch and closed her eyes letting the aspirin seep into her bloodstream. Snow looked down at her daughter with a loving glance and a wide smile on her face. Everything was falling into place.

It was close to 10 before Snow got her daughter and grandson out of the house. Henry was a little more withdrawn than Snow would have liked, she knew the change in his behavior wouldn't go unnoticed in public, nor by his father so on their way down to Granny's Snow tried to talk to him.

"Are you ok Henry?" She asked. The boy was aloof and shrugged his shoulders. "You know you can tell me anything right?" He nodded but still didn't look up at her. She decided that she would need to talk to Neal beforehand, setting the groundwork to her elaborate lie. She guided the two into Granny's and checked to make sure Neal was not yet there. Thankfully the man's lateness was practically his trademark. She stepped outside the diner and called him from her cellphone.

"Neal? It's Snow." She said crisply.

"I know, I'm late, I had a—" He started to defend himself but she cut him off. "It is fine dear, I'm just calling to discuss Henry."

"What's wrong? Is he okay?" the man sounded worried.

"Yes, he is with his family, he is fine. However, Regina will no longer be a part of his life, some things have come to light about her nefarious doings in the mayor's office and we've decided that she is not a fit parent nor a positive influence on him. In light of these heinous accusations, Emma is evoking her parental rights. Do you understand Neal?"

"Uh yeah." He said dumbfounded. "But, uh…"

"Good." She said cutting him off once more. "That being said, Henry has regular meetings with Dr. Hopper to help him adjust, but the Doctor has said that due to the nature of Regina's hold over the boy, his psyche would be fragile and he should be the one to really talk to the boy about the goings on. Our contribution to his well being should be kept to keeping his day to day life as normal as possible without mention of the Evil Queen. Do you understand Neal?" She asked poignantly.

"I think so, yeah. Did she hurt him?" he asked.

She thought about it for a moment, deciding quickly that would be an excellent reason for the boy's father to keep the queen away. "We don't know, but if she did, she will be dealt with accordingly. Please allow Doctor Hopper to take the lead on this okay?" she waited for a response that never came. "Are you on your way at least? We are here waiting for you and we are on a schedule." She allowed her annoyance to color her tone and seep into her words. "I'm on my way." He said finally.

"Good. See you soon dear." She said, recovering her sweet loving tone she used to pacify people.

Neal had finally shown up and was sitting talking to Emma at the table with Henry. Snow was at the counter watching her little love story play out. Emma sent Henry over to Snow at the counter to fetch her another hot chocolate from Ruby who was standing talking to her best friend.

"Sure thing kid." The young brunette said as she disappeared into the back to get his order. The door behind Snow opened and to her surprise the Queen walked in, not looking up from her phone, checking her emails from work. Apparently an emergency council meeting was being called and she had been summoned. The Fischer project was put on the back burner and she stopped into Granny's to get some much needed caffeine. She strutted past both Snow and Henry, not seeing either of them. Ruby came out and handed the boy his mother's order, her attention lifted to the wolf who was suddenly before her. "Coffee Miss Lucas. To go." She said and returned to her phone. Henry called out to his blonde mother as he balanced her hot chocolate on the tea cup saucer, "Mom! I got it!" he said brightly.

The sound of her son's voice pulled Regina away from her phone; she looked up surprised to see him crossing the room to where her love was sitting in a booth with Mr. Cassidy of all people. Shock immobilized her for a moment and as she shook it off and started toward her family a strong grip grabbed her arm. Snow pulled her towards the door of the café. "She doesn't want to see you Regina." She said sternly.

"Don't be ridiculous Snow." Regina felt a pit in her stomach when she saw her son. Her son who didn't even look up at her, and his mother who watched him with her green eyes, also, didn't look at her. Now this?

"What the hell is going on Snow?" Regina demanded. She looked back at her lover sitting in the booth talking and laughing with their son's father. She looked back at Snow White, the smugness in the woman's green eyes spoke volumes. "Did she tell you about us?" Regina whispered.

"She told me she got herself into a situation she didn't want to be in anymore, and as her mother, it is my duty to help protect her." The pixie haired woman got right in the queen's face, "I am warning you, stay away from her Regina!"

Regina laughed at the ridiculousness of what the woman before her was saying, she turned around and marched over to her lover. "Emma—" was all the woman got out before Neal leapt up and grabbed the woman's arm. The look in her lover's eyes was fear, no doubt. "Unhand me Mr. Cassidy!"

"You need to leave them alone." He said quietly, the malice of his tone was perfectly clear. Regina was shocked and confused as she saw her son cowering into his birth mother, the woman she loved, the woman she thought loved her, looked at her, no, looked through her. Fear in her eyes, fear for their son. She was baffled at the sight and backed away from the table, ripping her arm away from the man who had it so tightly the bruise of his fingertips had already started to show around her wrist. She walked back to Snow and pointed her finger in the woman's face, "Whatever it is you've done, be warned this isn't over Snow White." She spat the woman's name and turned and stormed out of the diner.

"Oh it has just begun Regina." Snow said maliciously under her breath as she sat back down at the counter. She looked back to her daughter who was shaking her head and looking after her boy. Ruby put Regina's coffee on the counter and looked at Snow puzzled, "What the hell was that all about?"

"The queen is getting her comeuppance." Snow said flippantly.

Regina stood outside of her vehicle, in front of the diner and texted Emma repeatedly asking her what the hell was going on. She was getting no response. She finally called the number and got a 'this line has been disconnected' message. "This can't be happening." Regina got a call from one of the council members, their summons was immediate. His voice seemed strained and it drew her attention away from her personal life. Something was up at work, she could tell by the way he spoke to her. "I'll be right there Gary." She said. Quickly getting into her car and driving down to city hall her head was reeling at what had happened at the diner. She couldn't understand. She needed to talk to the blonde, but for the moment she needed to deal with whatever the hell blew up at work. She parked her car and stepped out. The wreck of Regina Mills tucked neatly away and the stone cold Mayor of Storybrooke stepped out of her Mercedes. There were far too many vehicles in the parking lot for a closed door council meeting. The dread she felt in the diner was back, but she pushed forward taking whatever it was that was coming in stride, with dignity, as a queen should.

She entered the building and heard shouting voices as she opened the doors to the main meeting hall, the hush fell across the mob that had gathered. Their faces angry and seething and it was something Regina had been all too familiar with, their anger was directed at her. "Just what in the hell is going on?" She demanded as she walked up the center aisle of the room.

"We have brought the council into session to vote in your immediate dismissal Madam Mayor." One of the council members, she knew to be loyal to the blue fairy, spoke out. The queen laughed. "Oh really? On what grounds?" The woman took out a stack of papers 3 inches thick at least and dropped them down on the table with a dramatic thud. "Theft of town funds, conspiracy, taking of bribes, lying, treachery… the list goes on!" the woman spat.

"Nonsense!" the queen boomed.

"We have documented evidence Regina." This time the voice came from Dr. Hopper.

"Lies. All of it. I have done nothing but serve this town!" she insisted.

"You cursed us all here to this wretched land!" One of the town folk shouted.

"You are a witch!" another yelled from the back.

"The Evil Queen needs to be stopped!" a third yelled closer to the front.

Regina's uneasiness came back with a vengeance. Seeing that these people were out for blood, nothing she could say at this point would sway them. Whatever was in that file Clara had, was convincing enough for them to impeach her.

"So be it." She said, evoking the tone she used often as the Evil Queen. "You want her, you've got her." She waved her hands and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke as the mob rushed in on her, just barely evading their grasp.

She rematerialized in her own kitchen where she found a note from Emma, along with Emma and Henry's keys.

"It's over. Stay away." Was scribbled on the lined note paper. She ran upstairs and noticed that Emma's door sign was missing, she flung open the womans door and dropped to her knees as it was completely cleaned out of all the saviors belongings. The drawers were empty the closet was empty, everything from the walls were gone. The only things that were left behind were the furniture and linens. She then got up and ran into their son's room, his room was devoid of his belongings as well. She fell to his bed, grasping at his pillow she cried into the one tangible thing she had of him, his scent still prominent. She allowed herself to let go and cry for only a moment before pulling herself together and thinking. _This wasn't real. This had to be a nightmare brought on by the savior sleeping away from home. SOMETHING! She promised she would never take him!_

 _'And you believed her because you are a fool.'_ the familiar sound of her mother's voice in her head taunted her.

Angry voices sounded outside of her home brought her out of her daze, she ran into her bedroom and the first thing she noticed was the framed photo Emma had given her was missing from its place beside her bed. The frame itself was smashed, but the photo was gone. She looked around her room and noticed that all of the photos of her family were missing. Everything. As if they never existed. Hard banging at the front of her house snapped her out of her shocked stance, she magicked a bag with some essential belongings together then transported herself out of the manor.

She re-materialized in the graveyard where her magical crypt resided, she saw instantly several townsfolk stalking around outside of the mausoleum. "Damn." She said out loud. She needed somewhere to hide, to think. She couldn't rely on having the savior protect her this time, and she was certain she couldn't rely on having her magic for much longer, the blonde knew how to bind other magical beings. It was only time before they clipped Regina's power. She hid behind a large oak, tears prickling behind her eyes as she realized she had no one. Nothing. If they turned Emma, whatever was in the supposed 'evidence' would have turned Katherine as well. She couldn't even trust the only friend she had. There was one place she could go, she needed to be close but out of sight, she used her magic and transported herself into the clock tower loft above the library.

The loft that was there was empty, dusty and full of god knows what, but it was abandoned, had electricity, indoor plumbing, and was safe from the town. It was also freezing as it was not insulated from the December cold of Maine. There was however, a fireplace that Regina utilized immediately. After several long chilly moments the place warmed up a bit and she could start to feel her fingers once again.

Regina magicked Emma's bed, linens and her dresser into the dusty space, both pieces of furniture landed with a thud. She removed her jacket and set it down on the dresser top, now that the room was starting to get warm. She filled the room with her magic and cleared out the years of grime, removed her heels and then settled down on her lover's bed.

"She didn't take her bed." Regina said aloud. It was curious, if she had moved, why hadn't she taken her furniture? "Perhaps she intended to come back and pick it up?" she wondered aloud. "No, she left her key." None of this made sense to her and she laid back on the soft yellow pillows that still held her love's scent and she lost her composure, crying deep sobs of agony for the love she lost, the son who feared her and for her lack of understanding how they had gotten to this point. Just last night Emma held her in her arms talking about a bright future, what the hell was she missing?

The creek of the door jamb startled the sobbing queen, "Regina?" the familiar accent of the blue eyed lover of her former teacher rang in the air.

"Stay back, I'm warning you!" the queen threatened suddenly feeling trapped, she had hoped she could hold up here until she figured out how to get her life back, but now, that didn't seem like an option. "Are you alright?" the auburn haired beauty stepped inside the door, not heeding the brunette's warning in the least. "I'm not going to hurt you." Belle recognized the look of fear and panic in the mayor and held her hands up in a way that showed her to be non-threatening. "You don't want to lynch me like the rest of the town?" Regina sniped, without her usual bite, the defeat in the woman's demeanor took the sting out of her words. Belle chuckled, "And have you turn me into an inchworm for all eternity? No thank you." She put her hands in the pockets of her skirt and slowly stepped closer to the obviously distressed woman. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

"The world has gone mad and I'm hiding out." Regina said plainly, unwilling or unable to hide the pain she felt.

"What happened?" The young girl moved closer until she was at the foot of the bed. "May I sit?" She asked politely. Regina nodded as she sniffled back her emotions, looking for where to begin.

"Someone set me up to have me removed from office. As far as I can tell, planted false evidence, what kind of evidence, I don't know. I didn't stick around for the 'grab your torch and pitchforks' portion of the meeting." She sighed shaking her head at the memory of how quickly and out of control that 'meeting' had gotten.

"What about the Sheriff? Surely she will get to the bottom of what is going on." Belle said hopefully.

"She's—" Regina shook her head and covered her mouth as the words caught in her throat, fresh tears streamed down her face. "There is something wrong with her." She choked the words out, "or she believes the lies. I - I'm not sure." The queen lifted a shaky hand and tried to futilely wipe tears away from her cheeks, just as fresh tears took their place. "Are you going to tell them I'm here?" Regina asks the girl, not expecting the woman to help her, she had locked her away for 28 years after all, she had reason to mistrust what the queen had told her. However surprise crossed her face as the auburn head shook a definitive no. "Why?" the brunette asked.

"Because I believe you." She reached over and took the queen's hand in her own, "I've seen you Regina, this last year, working against your nature to be a better person, for yourself, for your son, for Emma. Why would you throw all that work away now? It doesn't make sense." Belle said smartly. "I've also been through Rumpel's things and know the lengths he went through to keep you how you were." Regina swallowed hard at the thought of there being an actual record of the man's manipulation in her life. She wanted to see it, and wanted it destroyed, both at the same time. She simply nodded at the girl's explanation of why she would keep the queen's hideout secret. "Thank you, Belle."

"You haven't spoken to the Sheriff?" the girl suspected she knew the answer, but asked the question nonetheless. Regina shook her head no. "I saw her this morning, at Granny's, she… she looked right through me. If she believed the lies the council has to have me impeached, then why did she look afraid of me? Why did my son look like he didn't KNOW me?" she balled up her fists and punched the pillow she had in front of her on the bed. "I don't understand why she would leave me! Just last night we were happy, we were planning a future together…" the words fell from the queen's mouth before she had time to think about what it was she was saying.

"You and Emma are _together_?" Belle's wide blue eyes couldn't hide the surprise she felt.

"She is my True Love." Regina admitted. "That is why none of this makes sense! How could she believe that nonsense and not even talk to me about it? She forgave me for MUCH worse atrocities I've caused than what those people were saying I did, I mean, really? Bribes? Treachery? Theft? Those are the reasons I used to put a bounty on her mother for Hades sake!" the queen was now standing and pacing next to the bed. "It is a flimsy excuse at best!" she added knowing full well she was calling herself out on her own set up of Snow White.

"Snow…" the queen could see the gears turning behind those clear blue eyes. "You said Henry didn't recognize you?" Belle asked.

"He didn't say anything, he was acting weird, fearful. If Emma knew about the council meeting, and knew about what they had as supposed evidence, and told Henry, which she never would do, he would be angry. Not fearful." Regina worked out the logic aloud. "Emma too, looked afraid." She paced once more, more slowly. "And Mr. Cassidy, he…" she held out her bruised arm, his fingerprints prominently displayed in purpling marks around her wrist.

"Neal did that?" Belle was shocked, she had never known Bae to be violent.

"Yes this morning when he warned me to stay away from my family!" she cried out as she flopped back down on the bed. "This is so... bizarre! Why was she even with him? She hates him! I mean he is the whole reason she even moved in with me!"

"How was that now?" Belle looked curious, things not really adding up, the answer she had for the savior's odd behavior, she was certain she had, but couldn't find the catalyst for. The more information Regina gave her, the more she was sure the answer she thought, was actually correct.

"Snow had been pushing Emma toward," she swallowed visibly, the man's name caused her face to show her disdain, "Neal. Towards having a relationship with him. That was the last thing Emma wanted, so when Snow used Henry to try and get them together, Emma felt like her trust had been broken by the one person who was never meant to break it. So she moved out."

"Did you two know, that you were true loves when she did?" Belle asked honestly curious.

The queen shook her head no, "We found out after." A sad smile crossed her face. "I thought we were really happy." She whispered, fresh tears started streaming down once again. Belle knew better than anyone else what it was like to lose a true love. The sacrifice of Rumpel to save Henry against Peter Pan had all but destroyed her. It had taken months for her to get back out and have a life. Even if that life had been restricted to the library and her lost love's shop. Regina may not have lost Emma permanently, but Belle could still empathize with the woman.

"Have you eaten?" Belle asked with care. "I was about to get some lunch, I could bring you something?" Regina shook her head. "I'm not hungry." Belle patted her on the knee and sighed, "That wasn't what I asked you sweetie."

"No, I haven't eaten dear." She pulled the pillow she had in front of her up to her chest wrapping her arms around it, burying her face in her lover's scent. Belle stood and walked towards the door to leave. "I'll be back with a little something, perhaps you'll eat a little later then." She called over her shoulder. Regina hummed her response and sunk back into the bed, the stress of the day had reached her limit and she was overcome with the need to sleep.

Once Belle got to the bottom of the stairs, she walked through the door that connected the clock tower with the library, she pulled out her keys and locked the door behind her. She was sure the queen could get out if she needed to, but was certain no one else could get in as she had the only key.

She made her way down the street towards the diner that was the town's epicenter of gossip and goings on. It also happened to be where her best friend worked. If anyone knew what was going on it was Ruby Lucas. She opened the door to the diner and settled down at the counter. Ruby came over to her immediately, "Belle! I haven't seen you in days! I was going to make a special delivery for you tomorrow if I didn't see you." The wolf blushed a little at the gushing admission, "I mean I was just worried, I hadn't seen you." She said quietly. Belle knew the woman was sweet on her, but having just lost the man she loved, she couldn't reciprocate any feelings the girl had for her, even if she wanted to. Ruby respected the librarian's boundaries, they had spoken of the wolf's feelings long before Rumpel's demise and Belle was very clear about how she felt and his death hadn't changed that. Of course that didn't stop either of them from being the best of friends, sharing things Belle couldn't dream of sharing with her love. Things his nature just wouldn't allow him to understand, she loved him despite himself. To say the entire situation was complicated would be accurate.

"What's been going on?" Belle fished knowing Ruby knew not only What, but Who, Where, When and Why. "They deposed the mayor!" Ruby said starting at the top. "Apparently she has been doing some shady dealings, back door, covert mobster stuff. Really super sketchy." Her dark emerald eyes flicked around the room to see who was listening before she bent over the counter closer so Belle could hear her clearly, but no one else who was listening could. "It is all very suspect to me, but apparently the evidence is overwhelming. Not like THAT has ever happened before." The tall brunette lifted her eyebrows to get her unspoken point across.

"What did the Sheriff say about it?" Belle asked innocently, knowing full well Ruby and Emma were tight and if there was doubt with Sheriff Swan, Ruby would know about it. "That is just it, she isn't heading up the investigation, David is." Belle's dark eyebrows lifted as if to say something was weird about the whole thing. "Emma isn't investigating? That isn't like her at all." Belle baited the wolf. "Not just that, I think there is something really wrong with her. Henry too, he…"

"Hey Sister! Can I get a refill or what?" Leroy called over to Ruby who was supposed to be working. "Yeah yeah, keep your axe in your pants short stuff!" she called as she turned around and grabbed the coffee pot to refill the mug he held out. She sauntered over to his table and narrowed her eyes, "Half a cup as usual Leroy?" he took out the flask he had in his breast pocket of his jacket. "You know it Sister." He topped up his Irish coffee and brought it to his lips. "That is the stuff." The brunette patted him on the shoulder, "Take it easy brother, otherwise it will be a long night." He huffed in her general direction and sipped his beverage with care.

She returned to Belle at the counter who had been looking over the menu, considering what to order for Regina. "Leroy is hitting it early today huh?" Belle asked quietly. "Yeah ever since the whole thing with the new dwarves, it has been earlier and earlier." Ruby said sadly. "I've tried to talk to him, but he is pretty inconsolable."

"I will never understand why you stopped doing your column." Belle laughed and shook her head. "You're a natural Ruby."

"Column?" Ruby looked confused.

"Yeah, 'Ask Red', in the Daily Mirror?" Ruby shook her head and looked at the blue eyed girl as if she were crazy.

"Ruby! You worked there all last summer!" Belle exclaimed thinking at first the girl was kidding, but the ghostly look in her eyes sobered the librarian quickly. "You really have no idea what I'm talking about do you?" Ruby shook her head and furrowed her brow.

"There is something going on Ruby. Something really weird." Belle whispered to the brunette. "Come by the library after work. I'll show you." She winked at the girl to put her at ease; Ease the librarian herself did not feel.

"How is the soup today?" Belle cleared her throat and asked.

"Canned." Ruby said with a shrug. Belle wrinkled her nose at the prospect. "Can I get a serving of that to go? As well as a burger?" Ruby wrote down her friend's order and leaned back over the counter to finish dishing, "So anyway, something is definitely off about Emma. The mayor was in here this morning and it was like they had a fight or something because Snow said Emma moved out of the mayor's mansion into a place down town, but the mayor came down here and saw Emma with Neal and like Neal was all 'Me caveman. Me protect woman. Me get zug zug!' and I don't know it was all just really surreal, and then people were trippin out about the evil queen and apparently they trashed her house, but no one knows where she is, they think she left town." Ruby said practically in one breath then took Belle's order and put it up on the wheel to be filled.

Belle whispered to Ruby when she walked back over, "So Emma moved out? I thought they were dating?" Ruby lifted a surprised eyebrow at the information even she didn't know for sure. "I thought so too…" the wolf spoke carefully. "Spill it bookworm, what do you know?"

Belle shook her head, "Nothing, just something David said in passing the other day." She lied.

"Uh huh." Her friend wasn't buying it but Belle stuck to her guns. "I had some concerns about…" she looked around quickly then whispered the name extra quiet. "Snow." This got the waitress attention and if she had been in wolf form her ears would have twitched around to hear more clearly.

"What about her?" she asked quietly.

"Just some inconsistencies in her search for a portal back home." Belle shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure she could trust the wolf, even though she knew she was her friend, she also knew she would lay her life down for the White Princess. "He seemed worried about Regina's safety." This got the young brunette's wheels spinning. "I think I need to have a chat with our Sheriff." She said aloud. Belle nodded her head in agreement, "If anyone can get to the bottom of it, it is our Ruby Lucas." She smiled affectionately at the tall girl behind the counter who was beaming at the praise. The cook in the kitchen dinged Belle's order and Ruby went to go bag it up.

She came back to her friend and handed her the paper bag full of food. Belle took the bag and held onto the girl's hand a moment longer than she needed to, "Please come by tonight. We need to talk." The tall brunette nodded and they said their goodbyes.

Belle left the soup in Regina's makeshift room, careful not to wake the woman who had fallen asleep. By the sound of her day, she was sure the mayor would sleep through the night. She added a thick log to the fire to keep the room toasty for the entire night and left the room quietly. She locked up behind her and returned to the library. She went into her office and took out a pad of paper and started writing down titles she could remember Snow White reading through, making stars next to the ones she removed from the premises. It was the last few she had been interested in, but the princess hadn't returned them yet. She didn't want to ask for them back, in case Snow got suspicious of her intent. She did however remember the name of the one book that concerned her and wrote it down. She would go over this list with Regina in the morning, or whenever Regina could focus on the task. Heartbreak wasn't an easy fix. However, Belle was certain, by the information she had gotten from both the queen and the wolf, that Snow had cast a spell of some sort upon her daughter, her grandson, and for some unknown reason, Ruby. That was the curious thing, clearly the spell was intended to make a person forget, as that is what Ruby did precisely. She forgot a whole summer's worth of work, but otherwise seemed perfectly herself. If the same spell was cast on Emma and Henry; that would explain why neither of them recognized Regina.

Belle took a bite of her burger and shook her head at the situation she found herself in. The one thing she didn't understand was why Snow White, would do such a thing. To her own daughter. To her best friend. What was her motivation? "Regina would know." She whispered to herself. She wasn't certain if she should tell the queen of her suspicions just yet, the woman was in a fragile state and well to be honest, was known to overreact just a little bit, especially when it came to a certain princess.

She had been lost in her own thoughts for some time as her half eaten burger was now ice cold. She wrapped it up and stuffed it back in the bag. She went over the list again thinking again if there was anything she missed. Satisfied she had them all she tore the paper out, folded it and put it in her pocket. She then decided that she would start collecting books that WOULD help the town build a portal to the other realm, giving those who wanted to go, a chance to return home. It was as good of a project as any, and she was hoping her new housemate would be willing to help her. Regina was basically a walking talking Encyclopedia Magicka.

She was hoping Ruby would be able to ascertain whether or not Emma was indeed herself, because at this point Belle basically just had her gut and some hearsay to go on. Belle heard the front door of the library open and someone come in. She put aside the work she was doing and went out to greet whomever it was, hoping it was her friend.

Ruby had her thin leather jacket squeezed tightly around her lithe frame rubbing her hands together to get the blood flowing to her extremities. Belle walked through the library looking like a vision of kindness, if the wolf didn't know any better she would think the woman was floating. She chuckled to herself at her ridiculous thought processes and went deeper into the library to meet her friend.

"It is getting chilly huh?" Belle asked to start the conversation.

"Yeah it is close to Solstice, better to get the cold started now. Sooner it starts sooner it ends, that's what Granny always says." The waitress chuckled. "The royals are holding a ball, like back home to celebrate, had you heard?"

"I did overhear some of the kids talking about it the other day. They were really excited. For most of them, this is their first." Belle nodded thoughtfully.

"It will be my first." Ruby said sheepishly. "I have no idea what to wear." She looked down at her feet then blurted out, "Will you be going?"

"I hadn't thought about it." The librarian said truthfully. "Do you already have a date?" knowing full well Ruby Lucas would have a line a mile long of suitors to ask her to the Royal Solstice Ball, men and women alike. Ruby shook her head in the negative.

Belle smirked knowingly at her friend and decided to ask the wolf if she would like to go with her, as friends of course, but still it would be fun to dress up and hang out for the night.

"So, not-a-date date, to a royal ball, with the best looking woman in town? How could I say no?" Ruby beamed brightly at the prospect of going to the dance with the beauty, even if it was just as friends. There wasn't anyone else she would enjoy going with as much; Platonic or otherwise.

Belle took Ruby's hand and guided the girl to the back of the library where she had personally scanned in all of the archived 'Daily Mirror' newspapers into the computer. She flicked on the monitor, opened up the folder and dug through the careful cataloging system she designed, bringing up the PDF for a Sunday edition paper from last summer. She scrolled down to Ruby's column, her picture prominently displayed her wide toothy smile. "Ask Red" Belle sat back and let her friend read the column.

"What the actual fuck?" Ruby exclaimed. "Seriously? What the hell is that?" Belle touched the woman on the shoulder, offering her comfort for her obvious distress. "You apprenticed under Sidney last spring and he gave you a column for the summer."

"Sidney?" Ruby's eyes were wide and confused.

"Sidney Glass?" Belle spoke his name slowly then she scrolled through the same newspaper and pulled up his picture. "He runs the Daily Mirror."

"I've never seen that guy before in my life Belle." Ruby shook her head in disbelief at what her friend was telling her.

"I think someone cast a spell on you sweetheart." Belle said sweetly.

"But—" the wolf collapsed down into the chair next to her friend. "Why?"

"That I don't know." She said honestly. "We can't even be sure this is the only thing you don't remember." She said sadly. "We need to assess the Savior's condition, but…" Belle took Ruby's hand in hers, "We need to be really careful, for the moment, we can't trust ANYONE." Ruby nodded in agreement, still reeling over the knowledge she has full blocks of time she can't even remember losing. "I mean it Ruby, not another single living person. You and me. That is it."

"I got it. No one can know, that I know I don't know stuff." Ruby said making light of the serious situation and Belle giggled at her friend.

"Exactly. No one." Belle said one last time hoping beyond hope the woman could keep her mouth closed to the one person she tells everything to.

"What aren't you telling me?" Ruby said quietly.

"Do you trust me Ruby?" Belle asked the question in response to the question posed. Ruby nodded her head, as she did indeed trust the librarian. She hadn't known the girl long, but in the short time they had together they had grown quite close and she knew the girl would never do her harm. She may have lusted and even loved the auburn haired girl, but that wasn't why she trusted her. Belle was one of the most caring selfless people Red had ever met. The purity of her good and honest nature shone brightly through the woman's eyes.

"I promise, after we talk to the Savior, I'll tell you my suspicions. We need to be very careful though." Belle patted the girl's hand, just to drive home the promise she had just made.

"Do you think Regina did the things they accused her of?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"I don't. No." Belle said honestly. "I do think it is a part of what is going on. Someone driving a wedge between the Savior and the Queen." She finished quietly.

"I thought she had been changing, you know, for Emma. It didn't make sense what they said she did. It was petty stuff, for financial gain, like the woman needed it, you know?" Ruby said smartly.

Belle nodded in agreement and added, "I believe she has changed, in ways we will never know, because of the Savior, because of their son. She isn't the woman who cursed us all to this land 30 years ago." She shut the computer down before she forgot, then turned back to face Ruby who asked, "Do you think the Queen has left town?"

"Do you?" Belle asked the question in answer to the brunettes question. Ruby looked knowingly at the shorter woman before she answered. "No. She wouldn't leave. It isn't her style." Belle laughed, and Ruby added, "No her style is to burn half the world to get to the bottom of what the hell is going on in her town." Belle nodded in agreement.


	16. Chapter 16

Regina had indeed slept through the entire night. When she awoke she saw the bookworm had snuck in and placed a fresh coffee from Granny's on the dresser for her, there was also a bag that was no doubt food she wouldn't eat. The air in the room was chilled and she tested her magic and re-stoked the fire. 'Well Emma hasn't bound my magic yet, that is positive.' She thought to herself as she magically warmed her coffee. She sat on her bed and thought about what she was going to do next. She knew this wasn't as simple as Emma rejecting her, their family. The facts didn't add up. She needed… she needed Gold, she thought to herself sadly. It hadn't been the first time she had thought about the man who sacrificed himself to save her son in Neverland, but it was the first time she felt lost without him. He had done a number of deplorable things to her, and she rightfully hated the man, but he had also been a teacher, and the closest thing she had to an actual parent in the way of nurturing. Even if that nurturing was a disguise for manipulation, she had to believe the man, on some level, cared about her. At least the way she did for him. The next best thing to Rumpelstiltskin was the magic he had in his shop. She would need to talk to Belle about going there.

She wasn't sure if she trusted the girls motivation, but perhaps some people were just innately good and did things because of their goodness.

'Idiots.'

Just then a light knock on the door grabbed the queen's attention. Belle's soft distinct voice spoke the queen's name through the wooden barrier.

"Come in." the queen commanded. Belle had a plate with toast and jam and Regina's stomach flipped at the thought of food.

"I know you are probably still not hungry, but you should probably eat a little something." The girl said sweetly putting the offered plate down on the dresser when it was not taken. "You need your strength; I'll be needing your help today, your Majesty."

"Whatever for? I do have bigger problems at the moment Belle." The queen was visibly irritated as she stood to place her coffee cup down on the dresser and pick up a cut slice of the toast the girl had offered. "Helping me, is helping you, your Majesty." The girl said plainly removing the argument from the former mayor.

"Ruby is going to go talk to Emma today and see what she can find out about her strange behavior." Belle decided by the look of mistrust on the queen's face she would need to let her in on part of her plan.

"So she IS acting odd?" Regina sounded positively relieved, the idea that this was all just a misunderstanding, or that the girl had been swayed by a few lies and some false paperwork had been just a little too much for the queen to handle. Belle nodded in affirmation.

"I didn't tell Ruby you were here," she started, "It isn't that I don't trust her, I just think that for the moment, until we know exactly what we are dealing with, less is more in the way of need to know information." The auburn haired woman said coolly.

"I see why Rumpel loved you." The queen mumbled sadly. The comment touched the librarian, but the mention of her love took her off her game for a moment. They stood there, both remembering the man who had changed each of their lives fundamentally, for better and for worse.

Belle finally broke the silence, "Yes, well, until we get to the bottom of this, I think some research is in order."

"Oh I know who is behind this." The queen murmured. "I intend to get to the bottom of this now." Regina magicked her sleep rumpled clothes off of her and replaced them with fresh warm clothes. Her hair and makeup done perfectly in a matter of seconds. Before Belle could say a word to the contrary the queen vanished in a puff of her signature purple smoke.

Belle sighed at the woman's impatience, picked up the breakfast she brought for the queen, and headed back down to her own apartment.

Regina materialized outside the door of Snow White's home and pounded on the door. The pixie haired woman answered it with a smile that immediately dropped when she saw her nemesis standing in front of her. "I demand to see her Snow!" Snow White's smug grimace did nothing to calm the queen who started to yell her lover's name into the apartment.

"She isn't here." The little brunette said coolly.

"Where is she? Where is my SON?" Regina's voice boomed, echoing off the stairwell that led to the apartment.

"Emma got her own apartment, and she and my grandson are there." Snow smiled as she watched Regina's face drop at the news. "They are happy without you Regina. Leave them be, and get out of town while you still can." The malice of the last threat was thick in the woman's voice.

"Where are they?" the queen asked, the hope she had diminishing as she thought that maybe this wasn't just a misunderstanding, that perhaps this was something Emma had decided and that thought weighed heavily on the queen. Snow's eyes flashed victory as she said, "Not telling. IF you don't leave this instant I will call the Sheriff's office, there is a warrant out for your arrest you know." The smugness in the woman's face was too much to bear and Regina disappeared in a cloud, defeated.

David sat quietly in the kitchen listening to the conversation the former mayor had with his wife. Snow closed the door and returned to her husband. "I'm still investigating you know, there is no warrant." He said as he sipped his tea.

"I know." She said flippantly. "She needs to stay away from Emma."

He put his tea cup down and looked at his wife. "What is going on Snow?" He knew something big was going on, the investigation he had started was going nowhere fast, the so-called evidence was failing with dead end after dead end, as if it were conjured. It was tangible on the surface, but digging a little bit deeper, each instance was proving a fruitless find.

"She hurt our daughter David!" the little woman exploded at him. "She hurt Henry!" David knit his brow together in confusion. "Look," she said knowing he wouldn't drop it and she didn't want to elaborate the lie any further than she needed to. "Emma and I decided that she would drink a potion from Rumpel to forget Regina. It was too hard for her to continue on the way she was."

"And Henry?" the man was shocked at this news.

"Yes, we forced him to take it too, but we did it for his own good David, they are much happier now." She placated. "It was his mother's decision." She added for good measure. He seemed to accept his wife's explanation of events, "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked not entirely understanding the feeling of sudden distrust he had for the woman before him.

"I'm telling you now, David." She slipped her arms around his broad shoulders and kissed him on the neck hoping that was the end of his inquiry. She felt his body relax under her touch and decided that was indeed the end of it.

Emma entered Granny's diner and looked around for the friend she was meeting. The tall brunette was standing at the far end of the room next to the counter showing one of the new waitresses how Granny liked her station set up. Emma waved at Ruby to get her attention then pointed to the empty booth and took a seat. Shortly after Emma got comfortable, the waitress in training dropped a tray full of dishes and Ruby threw her arms up and walked away from the mess the girl made. Emma laughed as Ruby stomped over to the booth and flopped down.

"New hire?" Emma said, still chuckling. "She seems like a keeper."

"Don't get me started." Ruby rolled her eyes. "So how is my favorite Savior doing? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Can't complain. Neal has been spending a lot of time around Henry and me, at Mom's insistence I'm sure. He asked me to the Solstice Ball, so I need to go gown shopping." Emma said flippantly.

"You're going with him?" Ruby asked shocked. "You hate Neal!"

"I don't hate him." Emma rolled her eyes.

"You do so! You said you hate him! Like actually those words! Right over there!" she pointed to another booth behind them. "You said, and I quote, I hate Neal, Ruby."

"Well maybe I've changed my mind. I mean he is an idiot and he screwed me over, but it isn't like I've got a lot of options." She waved over the new waitress and placed an order for a coffee, black. "Well, I guess there is always Hook." She said with a wink and a devious smile.

"No Emma. No. He'll give you scurvy or something." Ruby wrinkled up her nose at the thought of the dirty pirate.

"Whatever." Emma laughed, "I'll still fuck him for the hell of it."

"I thought you just said you were giving Neal another chance?" Ruby looked confused at the blonde who sat before her.

"I am. So?" Emma shrugs her shoulders.

"So you are going to date them both?" Ruby tried to wrap her mind around what her friend was saying.

"Who said anything about dating?" Emma laughed menacingly.

"Neal loves you Emma." Ruby tried not to sound startled at the turn their conversation had taken.

"Yeah so? That sounds like a Neal problem. Not an Emma problem." The waitress brought over Emma's coffee and accidentally spilled a little as she put it down on the table. Emma blew up at the girl. "Are you a fucking idiot? Jesus! You have no business being a waitress!" She grabbed the tea towel the girl had pulled out of her apron to clean up the mess and started wiping down the table herself. "I've got it! I wouldn't want you fucking this up more than you already have!"

"Emma!" Ruby scolded. "It is her first day, give her a break!"

"It should be her last day, she is useless!" Emma spat at the girls back as she slunk away from the table. Ruby's green eyes were wide in shock at her friend's behavior. "What?" Emma asked. Ruby just shook her head and kept what she was thinking to herself. This woman was not who she used to be.

"So you are going to just do both Neal and Hook? At the same time?" Ruby brought their conversation back to where it was before Melena brought over the coffee. Emma lifted an eyebrow and a wicked smirk crossed her lips. "Now that is a good idea…" she licked her lips as she thought about it. "Do you think they'd be into that? Mmmm filled up on both ends. Man that makes me throb just thinking about it." The blonde instantly rubbed her hand over her crotch and moaned.

"EMMA!" Ruby practically shouted, looking around to see if anyone had seen the blonde's lewd behavior.

"What? I need to get laid. I don't remember the last time I took a deep dicking. Must have been before I came to this god awful town." the savior grumbled.

Ruby shook her head at the irony of _that_ statement. "Okay we need to change the subject."

"Whatever man, don't get your panties twisted." Emma lifted the menu and started looking it over nonchalantly.

"So, uh…" Ruby started nervously, "how is the investigation into Regina going?"

"Who?" Emma asked without looking up from her menu.

 _Shit, Belle is right she has no idea who the queen is. It is just like that time Snow forgot Charming. Right down to the crazy personality change._ "Regina… The Mayor?" surely the woman would know there was an open investigation into the mayor's office, even if she couldn't recall who exactly she was. "Oh right. Yeah. Uh, David is doing that. I don't know how it's going, he hasn't spoken to me about it yet."

"What do you know about her?" the brunette was careful to whisper the question, concerned that others around them would overhear and realize something was seriously wrong with the Savior. It could cause panic.

"Know about her?" Emma scoffed. "I don't know. Nothing I guess."

"Isn't that a little weird?" Ruby prodded the woman. Emma shrugged her shoulders in answer, "Meh, I'm not about politics." Ruby decided to drop it, for now, and focused on Emma and Henry's move. "So how do you like the new apartment?"

Emma put down the menu and her face lit up, "It is great!" she answered, "It is everything Mom said it would be and more!"

"Snow got you the apartment?" Ruby asked carefully trying not to sound as interested as she actually was.

"Yeah. She is great isn't she?" Emma's dimples dug deep into her cheeks as she smiled at her green eyed friend. "I'm so happy I've got my family." Emma said brightly. Ruby noticed a single solitary tear escape and slide down her friend's cheek, there was clear sorrow in the savior's green eyes, even the smile on her face looked forced. "Why are you crying Emma?"

"What? I'm not."

"You are, look." Ruby brushed the side of her own face to indicate where the tear was running from on Emma's. Emma wiped the tear away baffled at its presence. "Oh. I am. Weird. Why am I doing that? I didn't even realize. Guess it is happy tears?"

"Yeah… Maybe." Ruby replied sadly. "So where is your dad today?"

"Afternoon shift at the station." Emma replied forgetting all about the sad little tear that was shed only a moment before. Their waitress came back to take their order and after a rather rude verbal thrashing from the savior, their order finally got placed. Ruby decided that small talk was what would be best for the remainder of their meal together. She was having a hard time stomaching the savior's attitude and was looking forward to getting away from the blonde as quickly as possible.

After the awkward lunch she had with her so-called friend, Ruby sought out the girl's father, David. She asked him what happened to Emma and he reiterated what Snow had told him. She looked at him suspiciously, but couldn't see any tells of deception. Emma had once taught her how to use her superpower, it had come in handy on more than one occasion. She then asked him about how the investigation is going into Regina. "It is an active investigation Ruby, I don't think it would be proper to discuss it with a civilian." He said diplomatically looking a bit nervous. Red prodded for more information, but when he refused to answer her she started asking him the hard questions he had been trying to avoid since the mayor had been deposed. "Why would she do this David? Like really? What was her motivation? Money? Seriously?" her green eyes wide and questioning.

"Who knows why the Evil Queen does anything she does." He answers quietly, however deep down he knew the woman was right. It was like someone was trying to put enough pressure on the mayor in order to run her out of town.

Emma went down to the Rabbit hole after her lunch with Ruby had concluded, she had gotten herself all kinds of worked up thinking about getting double teamed between Hook and Neal and needed a drink to quiet the yearnings. Neal was working a shift this evening and wouldn't be around to offer his 'services' so she would need to find another way to quench her _thirst_.

She sat at the bar and drank her second beer, looking around at the pitiful excuses this town had for eligible bachelors made her scoff and roll her eyes. Just as she turned back around towards her drink a cool dark glass of water in a leather container sauntered up to the blonde and sat down. "Well imagine my delight to see you here Swan!" the pirate drawled happily. Emma's lips curled up into a seductive smile, "Well aren't you full of surprises Captain. I would think you'd be passed out on a shore somewhere, it is nearly 3 in the afternoon after all." The man feigned hurt as he put his hand over his heart. "You wound me Swan."

"No, but the night is still young Captain." She said with a flick of her eyelashes. He realized quickly she was flirting with him and his mind raced at the possibilities.

"Shall we take our drinks somewhere a little more private?" he asked charmingly. She stuck out her tongue and ran it over her lips slowly, for his benefit, before she nodded in agreement. "Lead the way love." He gestured toward the, mostly deserted, back end of the dive bar. He leaned over toward the bartender and said quickly, "Open a tab mate, and keep them coming. Anything the lady wants, the lady shall have." He winked knowingly towards the man who merely grunted his response and went to join his fair blonde lass in the large round booth she has chosen.

She started to take off her red leather jacket and Killian quickly trotted up behind her to help her remove the garment. "Allow me lass." He said cheerfully. "Thank you." She replied demurely and smiled at him as she took a seat in the booth, patting the spot next to her coyly.

"You know I had thought that perhaps we got off on the wrong foot, after you left me in the brig over night, but I have to say I am quite pleased that you seem to be more open to reception." He spoke carefully.

"Oh I'm open. For reception." She said smoothly. She tucked herself up against his right side, pressing her back against his hard chest. Her soft blonde curls cascading down over his leather clad breast. She grabbed his hand and covered it with her own, tracing over her abdomen, sliding the rough callused hand over her breast. He groaned his delight as his leather pants suddenly got much tighter. Her hands left his to fondle her breast while her own went down to unbutton her pants. His movements froze as watched over her shoulder as she slowly unzipped her skin tight jeans then reached up for his hand, guiding it down to slip under her bright yellow cotton panties. His fingers roughly slipped into her folds and she groaned out quietly. She ground her hips as he explored her with his fingers, she was all kinds of ready and had him panting and throbbing; she made all kinds of sexy noises as he stroked her.

She reached her hand around to the bulge of his crotch and smiled to herself. "Come on." She said as she removed his hand from her ready to go pussy. She pulled him up and dragged him into the women's bathroom, locking the door behind them. She pinned him up against the wall and dragged her fingers down over the hot throbbing mass between his legs, her touch turned into a grip which elicited a very unpirate-like yelp. "I want you to fuck me right now Killian." She hissed breathlessly as she pressed her body up against his, her mound hitting his swollen member in just such a way he would have given her anything she wanted at that moment. He was having difficulty keeping himself under control as she kissed him hard on the lips, but was able to counter her offer. Trying to be the gentleman he proclaimed himself to be said, "I think a shag in a bar room ladies stall is beneath you Swan." He grimaced as she pulled back from him, her green eyes searching his face carefully. "Maybe I've got the wrong guy." She said and let him go and turned away from him. "I'm sure Neal would be willing to pull the trigger." She said over her shoulder.

The mention of Baelfire roared the pirate into life; he grabbed at her roughly and slammed their bodies into the far wall. He ripped at her shirt, pulling it up over her head, she of course helping him with an all knowing smile. She pushed her ass back into the pirates crotch and wiggled her hips, "Come get the catch of the day sailor." She laughed as he growled his yearning for her. He unlaced his cod piece and released his manhood rubbing it over her jean covered bottom. She pulled her pants down over her hips and reached back to grab his impressive mast. "Ahoy Matey." She cooed with anticipation as he rubbed the tip of his cock against her wet opening. He roughly entered her without warning, biting down on her shoulder. She gasped at the sudden sensation of being filled, stretched around his thick throbbing manhood as he pumped into her, slamming her against the wall and breathing hot grunts into her ear. She laughed out and praised his performance as he rose to the occasion, she backed into him meeting his thrusts, rubbing a free hand over her clit causing her to squeeze her opening around the intrusion as she neared her climax, gripping him, pulling the pleasure out of him until he blasted his orgasm into her filling her with his sticky ejaculate she panted out her own orgasm in tandem.

When they both came back to their senses she pulled him from her opening and went into the stall to clean herself up. She noticed then that her face was wet, tears streamed down over her cheeks. She used some of the tissue to dry the curious tears and then continued to get dressed. Once she situated herself she came out to find that Killian was fully dressed once more and leaning up against the wall he just thoroughly fucked her on. She walked over to the sink and washed her hands, looking back at him curiously. 'The sex was good, but CRYING good? No, it's just been a while.' She thought to herself.

"Swan come home with me tonight." He said softly. His eyes speaking the emotions he felt for the blonde under the bravado of his ruggish exterior.

"I can't Killian, I've got the kid." She looked down at her phone it was well after the time she needed to be at the school to pick up said kid and her eyes bulged. "Fuck, I'm late."

All she heard as she bolted from the bathroom was "Swan! Wait!"

 _Her mother was going to be pissed, she was 45 minutes late picking up Henry from school!_

"Dammit!" she shouted at herself as she got into her bug.

 _'This is why you gave him up._ ' The asshole voice inside her head taunted her. _'You weren't cut out to be anyone's mother. You only took him to get him out of the system, but now that you're here, you regret coming back with him.'_ She closed her eyes and willed the voice to shut the hell up, started the bug and drove to pick up her kid from school.

Over the next week Ruby was stuck covering extra shifts at the diner after two of the waitresses quit on the spot. The klutz from her lunch date with Emma, and the other new hire who claimed she wasn't waitress material. Ruby suspected Emma had laid into the other girl as well. So because of the extreme short staff, Ruby was running ragged. When she wasn't asleep, she was working. Sometimes she was doing both at the same time. She hadn't had a chance to see Belle all week, with the exception of in passing when the girl would come by to pick up something from Granny's. They weren't able to sit down and talk about what the wolf had discovered, all she was able to really tell the girl was that she had been right, but even then the woman kept getting interrupted by customers.

Meanwhile, Regina spent the week sinking into a dark depression, convinced that her love had chosen to believe a pack of lies over what she knew about the queen. Regina eventually sealed off the room with a magical ward spell, preventing access to even Belle after several days of barely tolerating the girl's incessant prodding. She cast the spell then settled in to sleep her heart ache away. After almost a week of sleeping 18 hours a day and crying for the other 6, Regina finally made a decision about her predicament and ripped her own heart out to stop the pain. She pushed her fingers into her chest and grabbed the twitching muscle within her rib cage; it's feeling was really odd when performed on oneself. The grip she used was a light touch as any pressure to the organ causes the owner unbearable agony. She watched as she pulled the still beating heart through her chest wall, holding up the glowing thumping heart in her hand she marveled at its power. She also noticed it isn't as dark as it had once been.

 _'Emma Swan did that.'_ She thought to herself sadly.

 _'Love is weakness'_ her mother's voice haunted her from the grave.

She gingerly placed her heart in a velvet lined box she magically retrieved from her basement at home. She closed the lid and locked it down with its own ward spell based on blood magic. She then placed it into one of the empty dresser drawers, hiding it with a phase shifting spell so no one other than the blood owner will even be able to SEE the box, then closed the dresser drawer. She placed a ward on the drawer itself, just for good measure. Satisfied that her heart was now completely protected, she removed the protection ward from her room and went down to see Belle.

Regina magically transported herself into the auburn haired girl's apartment; Just inside the front door. The place was set up like a loft and the sudden appearance of the queen startled the girl who was in the kitchen making coffee. "Regina!" Belle exclaimed almost dropping the mug she held in her hand.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you dear." Regina said coolly. "Even with the library being closed, I didn't want to take the chance of being seen."

Belle was happy to see the woman up and about, but noticed the icy change in her immediately. "Regina, are you alright? You seem… different." She said carefully. Danger dripped off the short brunette standing in her apartment like icy sleet.

"I've taken care to remove my heart, dear. It was causing me too much pain and I couldn't function as I'm sure you've noticed." The queen said casually as if that were the natural response to her situation. Belle moved cautiously closer to the woman taking care not to make sudden movements, "Are you sure this is best? I mean…" the queen cut her off quickly, "Yes. I am. I need to be focused in order to get my family back!" her voice filled with the anger she knew all too well. "I WILL have my vengeance!" she roared.

Belle flinched at the abrupt outburst of the unpredictable queen when suddenly her front door unlocked and Ruby rushed into her apartment. Regina whirled around eyes wide at the intrusion. The wolf skidded to a halt at the sight of the queen in all her venomous glory. Regina grabbed the wolf magically lifting and choking her, simultaneously.

"Regina NO!" Belle screamed from behind her, but the queen was pulsating with magic, stormy purple swirls covered her dark eyes and crimson sparks crackled off of her skin. Her head snapped back towards the beauty pleading for her friends life. "This is Snow White's bitch!" she hissed, "She will turn me over to the mob gladly! You think they won't come after you for helping the Evil Queen? You're more naïve than I gave you credit for!" her voice boomed in the tiny apartment.

"She won't I promise!" Belle pleaded. "Please Regina! Let her speak! If you don't believe us, you may kill us both, but listen to us first!"

Ruby's eyes grew wide at her friends deal with the devil, but she was feeling herself lose consciousness, her futile grasping at the magical hold around her neck was doing nothing more than marking her skin with her own nails.

Regina heard Emma's voice in her mind, _"If anything happens to me, promise me, right now, you won't become a monster."_

"Very well." Regina relented. She allowed the wolf to breathe once more, but kept her suspended in the air. She was certainly no fool to let the woman go completely. Ruby gasped for air and choked out between breaths, "I'm... on… your side… 'Gina!" Belle rushed over to the girl, but the height of the woman suspended in air was beyond any comfort she could offer. "Regina please! You need to go put your heart back in! We need you!" the crystal blue eyes begged her.

"It hurts, too much." The queen admitted. Belle slowly approached the queen, "I know, but you need to feel the love to help your family. This isn't the way."

"Regina," Ruby spoke desperate to get through to the woman, "I've spoken to Emma, there is something really, _really_ wrong with her. Her personality has completely changed. We need you to help get her back. Please?" Ruby pleaded.

Regina set the wolf down gently. "Tell me everything." She commanded. Belle took the queen by the shoulders, just barely committing to touching the woman. "Go get your heart. There is a lot we need to discuss, and I need _all_ of you." Regina rolled her eyes and disappeared in a cloud of her signature smoke. Belle rushed over to her friend, "Are you alright?"

"She's been here the whole time?" Ruby said, the betrayal she felt thick in the words she spoke.

"I couldn't tell you Ruby, not until I was sure…"

"Sure what? That you could TRUST me?" the wolf spat back at her. Regina reappeared in the kitchen, seemingly fully intact, her features which were previously icy now wracked with sorrow and pain.

"Yes, I needed to make sure I could trust you!" Belle said back harshly. "You are Snow White's best friend and I wasn't sure if your loyalty to her would trump over our friendship."

Ruby took what the girl was saying and nodded, even though she was still hurt. "but... I love you... AND I told you I didn't believe Regina did the things they said she did. You should have trusted me." She added quietly.

Regina interjected, "My whereabouts were on a need to know basis Miss Lucas, and you were not on the list. Now tell me everything about Emma's behavior this instant."

"First," Belle said tentatively. "Ruby's memories have been altered. She seemingly has forgotten Sidney Glass and the entire last summer of working at the Daily Mirror."

"Altered memories?" Regina's mind reeled, "The only way I know how to do that is through a curse."

"You may not have known a way, but I guarantee Rumpel did." Belle said sadly. Ruby added, "I think Emma and Henry's memories have also been affected. Emma has no idea who you are. And Henry.. he is.. isn't himself."

"This has Snow White written all over it." The queen seethed, yet relieved that it could be a curse and not Emma changing her mind about them.

"There was a potion Snow got from Rumpel, back in our world, that helped her forget David. So she did know of its existence." Ruby agreed reluctantly implicating her best friend. "I don't understand why she would erase my memories though. Something so obscure too. It doesn't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense Miss Lucas." The queen said flippantly, "She needed a test subject before giving the potion to her precious daughter and grandson."

Ruby's stomach flipped at the thought of her friend using her like a lab rat. Regina saw the turmoil in the green eyes of the wolf and added, "Her heart has been darkened Miss Lucas, she is not herself." Defending the woman who had callously taken her family away left a bad taste in her mouth. Both women were looking confused at the queen's admission so she explained further. "She murdered my mother, and manipulated me into pulling the trigger as they say." She said holding back the anger she was feeling. "You don't do something like that without it changing you."

"David knew this, didn't he?" Belle asked and Regina nodded her head with further explanation, "He had come to Emma and I a few months ago worried about his wife. Emma thought…" the queen trailed off remembering how hopeful her love had been that her mother could overcome her darkness. "Snow could beat it on her own, without having to drag fairy magic into it."

"Why wouldn't she want that?" Ruby asked innocently. "Blue could just fix it couldn't she?"

"It would have to be a wish dear, and wishes cost the lives of dwarves." Regina said solemnly. "That is why we shut down the production of more of them. It is the source of fairy magic."

"They were saying you were helping the fairies get around the council." Belle started but Regina rolled her eyes in response, "No, I know for a fact that was also Snow. Emma confronted the fairy bitches and they admitted it proudly."

Ruby looked lost as the realization of what her friend had become crashed over her. "So this is all Snow White's doing."

Belle put a comforting arm around her friend, "She was checking out Rumpel's books in order to 'help' find a way to create a portal; I had warned David that her choices of study were troublesome. However, he has never come back to me or has said anything about it."

"He has probably been altered as well." The queen added. "What books did she take?" Belle crossed the room and took out the list she had made and handed it to Regina.

"What is this one at the bottom?" her eyebrows knit into a worried bundle.

"That is the last one she took and hasn't returned. I think that is where she got the potion to do all of this, she hasn't been back since she checked out that book." Belle said.

"So she still has it?" Regina said slowly, her mind trying to figure a way to get it back. "We need the original potion to counteract it."

"Won't true loves kiss break it?" Belle blurted out without thinking and Regina's eyes instantly darted to Ruby for her reaction. "That is what broke Snow's curse." Ruby added with a nod. "I mean, eventually." She contradicted herself.

"What does that mean?" the queen asked harshly.

"She didn't remember who Charming was, so the kiss didn't work at first. He had to remind her who she was or something." She said. "But, I think Emma does remember you Regina, on some level."

The hope in Regina's eyes couldn't be masked, "What makes you say that?" she asked quietly.

"When I had lunch with her, she was talking about her family, but she was crying and she didn't even realize she was doing it. As if she were mourning the loss she couldn't quite remember." Ruby said sadly.

"Snow is unpracticed at magic, it would stand to reason her spell would have bleed through." She said mostly to herself. "So I have to kiss her." Regina said with puzzlement. "How the hell am I going to do that when she won't even let me near her?"

"She said Neal is taking her to the Solstice Ball! They should have Mistletoe as a decoration everywhere, it is tradition!" the wolf said cheerfully. "She can't say no!" she added for clarification.

"I can't just show up at the ball, I'm a hunted woman." Regina said gruffly. "Although…" she trailed off formulating a plan within her own mind. "I could glamour my features. They haven't bound my magic… yet…"

"I think Snow thinks you've left Storybrooke. They've looked everywhere for you." Ruby said helpfully.

"Clearly not everywhere." The queen quipped.

"I doubt they'd think I'd help you." Belle added. "No one really knows there is a second apartment above the library anyway."

"There is a second apartment?" Ruby exclaimed. Regina rolled her eyes at the woman's outburst.

"Thank you for that, by the way. They would have killed me." Regina said to Belle with appreciation.

Belle put her hand on Regina's shoulder to comfort the woman, and expressed her acceptance of the queen. Ruby flopped down on the sofa. "If true love's kiss is the only way to break this curse, mine will never be broken." She said sadly. "Who knows what I've forgotten."

Belle crossed the room and sat down next to the young brunette. She wasn't entirely sure it would work, but she put all of the love she felt for the girl into a kiss that startled the wolf. The clear ring of power burst out from between them shocking all of the women in the room.

"But…" Ruby tried to formulate her thoughts with no luck. "Rumpel…"

Regina chimed in with her knowledge of True Love's Kiss. "There are many kinds of love Miss Lucas, The love of a lover, the love of a parent, the love between friends. However Belle's romantic love has passed on, it is reasonable to believe she wouldn't be doomed to live the remainder of her life alone."

"How did you know that would work?" Ruby turned her attention to Belle, who was mulling around what the queen had just said. "I didn't. I can't be certain what my love for you means, I just knew I did. I knew you loved me in return." She saw the hope in her friends eyes and added, "I'm still not ready to pursue a romantic relationship, with anyone, but I think," she chose her words carefully, "I think, that won't always be the case."

"I will wait for you." The moon-child said. She placed a sweet chaste kiss upon the beauty's forehead. "However long it takes."

The queen interrupted their private conversation, "Yes well, the ball isn't for another 5 days. What shall I do until then?" bringing the focus back to her own dilemma.

"You could help me look through the dark one's magic to find a way for the townsfolk to get home." Belle asked hopefully. Regina nodded as that was a good way to keep her occupied between now and then. "I've been giving that some thought. Rumpel was able to create a doorway of sorts between the Enchanted Forest and Wonderland. He presented me with a portal to banish my mother on my wedding day. I think as long as both realms have magic, the portal could be created. It would be a magical item, not a spell or curse or potion. I'll need access to his shop."

"Do you have any idea what it is we are looking for?" Ruby asked. Regina shook her head no, "It could literally be anything."

"I suppose we should get started." Belle said definitively. "You should glamour yourself, just in case anyone shows up at the shop while we are there." Regina nodded in agreement and waved her hands over herself changing her entire appearance. She was a blue eyed red head standing the same height and build as the queen but the change of features was miraculous and the other two women gasped at the marvel of it.

"Let's go ladies." The queen said in a distinct new voice.


	17. Chapter 17

Emma Swan was having a bad day. Most of her days were bad days she quietly noted to herself. 'Has it always been this way?' she thought. 'No. Not always.' Her inner voice reminded her. A soft knock outside her office door pulled her away from her daydreaming.

A small older woman poked her head into the office with a warm smile. "Savior?" the old lady greeted. Emma forced a smile on her face knowing this was going to be one of those 'Save my cat from a tree Savior!' type situations she loathed. The woman was carrying a small black velvet bag in her hand Emma noted as she stood to greet the woman properly. "Emma. You can just call me Emma." She said as she reached out her hand to shake the old woman's.

The lady's grip was much firmer than the blonde had anticipated it be, her brown eyes warm and questioning. "I've been trying to contact you, Emma."

"Oh?" the blonde questioned.

"I even left messages on Prince James' voice mail." She added.

'James? Dad! Right.' Her brain reminded her. "They call him David here, I think James was his brother or something. Even David is his cursed name." Emma looked curiously up in the air trying to think of what her father's actual name was, 'Come to think of it, what the hell is his real name?'

"Of course your highness." The woman bowed reverently.

"Oh I'd prefer Savior over highness, but still Emma wins the race every time." Her words were harsher than she had intended, but she absolutely loathed repeating herself.

"Apologies Emma." She said, still insisting on bowing slightly as if the girls name itself were a royal title.

"So what can I do for you?" she asked tucking away the perplexing name debacle her father had and focusing on the old woman standing in her office.

"Your order has arrived, we don't normally do deliveries, but I knew this was important to you." She handed Emma the small black bag, its contents jingled within as it touched the savior's hand.

"Order?" Emma had no idea what the hell it could be. "I think you have the wrong… Savior…" she started, knowing full well her identity would never be confused with anyone else ever again.

"I don't have the wrong Savior, Emma." She bowed her head and turned to leave the woman alone with her package.

Emma opened the bag and dumped the contents out into her hand. Three rings jingled as they settled down in her palm. Bright white platinum, they gleamed in the light. One was obviously a set for a woman, both the engagement ring and wedding band interlocked together, but could be worn separate. The bright red ruby of the engagement ring sparkled brilliantly, it was set between two smaller diamonds. On either side was an intricate design of a swan. Emma's stomach flipped at the thought that this was in fact NEAL's order that got messed up and sent to her by mistake. She looked at the other ring, it was far too small for the fingers of her son's father. It was slightly thicker than the first, the same ruby/diamond design was inlaid into the top of the ring. The thin design that was etched around the band reminded her of tree branches. It was remarkable craftsmanship. She thought to herself. As she spun the thicker ring in her fingers she noticed the engraving inside.

"Her Majesty's White Knight." Written in thin elegant script. She looked inside the wedding band of other ring, "Swan's Queen." It said in the same script.

Emma was stunned to say the least. "What the fuck?" she asked out loud to no one. "These are fucking wedding rings!" she spat out angry and confused. Clearly they were hers, but who was this mysterious queen? "Why the fuck don't I know?" she asked again to no one. An uneasiness settled over her and she felt tears streaming down her face, tears she wasn't consciously shedding. In the pit of her stomach she felt something odd. It felt like hunger, but was more like loss. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt a sharp pain as it thrummed. She was having difficulty breathing as well. The savior took several deep breaths and tried to compose herself. Once the unpleasant feeling receded, she dumped the rings back in their bag and slipped it in her jacket pocket with a scowl. She looked at the time and rolled her eyes. She was late for the dress fitting with her mother down town. "Fucking stupid Ball tomorrow night." She murmured as she gathered up her phone and keys and headed out the door.

For the remainder of the week Belle, Ruby and Regina in disguise of course, worked carefully through Mr. Gold's shop looking for something, anything that he had used to make the portal Regina used to banish her mother. At night alone in her room, Regina went through books he had looking for clues to help them find what they were after. Although they didn't find the magical object itself, Regina did find mention of it after several days of looking. It was an obscure mention in one of the man's various journals. The writings were that of a mad man, as he wrote down what was to be, what could and must, and never shall, come to pass. It flowed out of him in the same manner in which it came to him, a jumble of wibbily wobbily timey wimey nonsense. However the mention of the object and its description was quite clear and Regina was pleased with the find. She brought it to Belle's attention first thing the next day.

Now at least the women had direction. "It is a small object, it could fit inside your palm neatly." Regina said. "It is the shape of a cone, but more like a cyclone almost, rough around the edges like this." she tried to envision it in her mind's eye projecting her thoughts outward to give the women a visual display of the item they were searching for. "I don't know what it is made of, but it will be extremely powerful, he will have it locked away most likely even booby trapped." Regina said as she spun the 3D image in the air before the two women.

"I've seen that before…" Belle said trying to rake through her memories. "At the castle. He had it in a hidden room he kept his most dangerous items."

"Does he have a special place here in this land for those items?" Regina asked hopefully.

Belle nodded sadly. "It is protected by blood magic, I can't open it." Regina's ginger face smiled wickedly. "We have his son."

Ruby spoke up, "Shouldn't we wait to get the savior back before opening that thing up, I mean if it is Rumplestiltskin's most dangerous items, having the savior's wits about her would be in our favor right?" she darted her eyes between the two women standing in the shop. Belle nodded in agreement. "The Ball is tomorrow, let's see if we can get her back before we try and open it."

"Oh, I'll get her back." The queen said. "If it is the last thing I do!"

"Get who back?" Emma asked standing behind the three women in the middle of Gold's shop.

"Emma!" Ruby cried out. Regina's eyes grew large with surprise and Belle just looked guilty as sin.

"Uh hi? I don't think we've met." Emma said to the mysterious red head standing between Belle and Ruby.

"I-I'm Carmen. I'm helping B-Belle." Regina said quickly. "With library stuff." She said off the top of her head, Belle rolled her eyes.

"What are you three doing?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"Trying to find a way home." Ruby said honestly, knowing the woman's superpowers would detect any lie they came up with, suspecting the savior had already seen through Regina.

"Uh huh. Get who back? Is someone missing?" Emma asked coolly.

"Uh no. Not missing." Regina said in her glamour British accent. "My sister, get her back for, uh, tricking me." She chuckled nervously, "You know- sisters!" She steeled her features to mask the pain she felt seeing her love.

Emma shrugged her shoulders, she suspected the woman was lying, but couldn't care enough to call her out on it. She was on a mission and wanted it over with as soon as possible. "No not really. Whatever. Rubes, mom sent me to come get you, you were supposed to meet us to get our fitting done today."

"Right. That was today." The wolf said sheepishly. "Okay, let's go then. Bye Belle, Bye _Carmen_." She quickly skipped forward and grabbed the savior by the arm and dragged her out of the shop.

Once they got outside Emma said, "You know I know that girl was full of shit right?"

"I know." Ruby said climbing into Emma's bug.

"Is it something I need to worry about?" Emma asked as she got in herself.

"Nope, nothing for the savior to worry her pretty little head over." Ruby said with a smile. "Now let's go get beautiful!"

Back in the shop Belle let out an exaggerated sigh and Regina turned away from the girl, hiding the upset she was holding in at the sight of her love. It had been the first time she had seen Emma in almost two weeks. The surprise had worn off and she felt like someone had kicked her in the gut. Belle put her arm around the queen, "We'll get her back tomorrow love, don't you worry." Regina sniffled back her tears and nodded, pooling her confidence that true love's kiss would bring her love back to her.

After a few moments of consoling her friend, Belle suddenly remembered something she came across the other day. "I almost forgot!" she exclaimed. She ran into the back of the shop and brought back a book. It was old, centuries old, with a thick black leather cover. The leather itself hadn't been dyed by the looks of it, it was just darkened with age. It creaked as Belle opened the cover gingerly. She carefully flipped to the page she wanted to show the queen. "Here, I thought this could help Snow."

Regina read over the details of the page, a scowl reminiscent of the queen upon the pale features of her masked face. "This is quite dangerous Belle." She said at the end of reading the several pages detailing pulling the darkness from someone's heart. "Any more dangerous than allowing Mary Margaret to run amuck the way she has been?"

"Yes!" Regina exclaimed. "If anyone got a hold of her darkness, they could turn her into the new dark one!"

"We will just have to make sure that doesn't happen, won't we Regina?" Belle said leaving little argument. "We can't lock her up. We can't leave her free. This is the best solution I have found so far."

"So we're just going to dismiss a sleeping curse?" Regina said dryly.

"So Charming can bumble in and wake her up?" Belle countered playfully.

"You have a point." The queen said knowingly. Then smiled wickedly, "A double dose!" she exclaimed.

Belle laughed and shook her head knowing the queen was teasing. Regina sighed. "Well if you won't let me curse them, and I'm sure once their daughter comes back to reality, she won't let me kill her. I suppose this is as good a plan as any." Belle nodded her head in satisfaction of the queen seeing it her way.

The night of the Ball came quickly for all who were anticipating the special night. Emma Swan was upstairs in her bedroom sitting on her bed rolling a platinum engagement ring between her fingers. She was lost in thought, trying to remember who Swan's Queen was gave her a headache, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. She had a dream the previous night about a woman, a business woman, she remembered the skirt and legs of the mysterious person, all of the other features were blurry, she could hear her speak, but couldn't make out the words, or even really hear the words, it was more a deep sultry rumble that Emma felt more than actually heard. She had woken damn near hysterical, crying so profoundly it shook her entire bed with her sobbing. She couldn't understand why the dream had upset her so gravely. She did however know it had something to do with these rings. These mysterious rings she bought two weeks ago and had no recollection of ordering them. The only evidence other than the rings themselves was the charge on her credit card. A $9000 dollar purchase was no accident. And it certainly didn't seem like fraud because here she held the personalized fruit right in her hand. No, this was something she did, on purpose. So why can't she remember it?

She heard the footsteps clambering down the hall and slipped the ring back in its bag, stuffing said bag between her mattress and the box spring. Her son knocked on the door. "You almost ready Ma?" he called through the wood barrier.

"No." she said looking down at herself, she was still in her underwear.

"Neal will be here any minute, you want me to stall him?" her son said without emotion.

"Yeah." She said simply and stood to put on the frilly baby blue satiny hell her mother had chosen for her to wear to this nonsensical ball for the evening. As she pulled the thing on she called out to her son whom she heard stomping away from her door. "Kid!" He came back, opened the door and poked his head in.

"Can you tighten the lace up thingie on the back of this?" she asked as pink flushed her cheeks. "Not too tight." She added clarification.

"You look beautiful." He said as he tightened the old style corset. "Neal is going to drool!" She snickered sadly. "Yeah I suppose that's why we bought the damned thing." The doorbell rang and Henry announced he would get it and ran from the room. Emma brushed her hair out one last time, having done up her hair and makeup prior to squeezing into the dress and checked herself out in the mirror.

"Yeah I'm hot." She smiled at herself, she noted that the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Her dark green orbs held a perpetual sadness she has noticed more and more lately. Uncertain about what to do about feelings she couldn't quite feel, she had been pushing it aside. As she would do again tonight.

She went down the hall and slipped into her pumps. The heels were her mother's idea, but as she said when they bought them, it made Neal look like a munchkin. She smiled at him as he craned his neck up to look at her. "Wow Ems, you look amazing!" he said with a gulp.

"Yeah I clean up good huh? Let's go." She said shortly. She grabbed the shawl for her bare shoulders and looked back at the kid. "No parties, bed by 11, you know, or whatever." He waved them off with an eye roll and closed and locked the door behind them.

Regina had magicked a simple ball gown, something she hadn't worn often, something from when she was much younger. She didn't think anyone would remember any of her outfits, but didn't want to take any chances either. She had done up herself to suit her glamoured mask, her long ginger hair braided with little white flowers that suited her pale green dress. Belle had gone to pick up Ruby as they were going as a couple and Regina had decided to transport herself to the back of the school gymnasium where they were holding the ball. It was far too cold to walk, and she no longer had a vehicle.

As she walked around to the front she saw Emma and Neal entering the front. She steeled her features and walked with determination towards the gym doors.

She tried her best to blend into the sides of the large open room admiring the decorations and keeping her eyes on the blonde who was doing everything, but pay attention to the little imp she came to the dance with. She watched as Killian "Guyliner" Jones walked up to the Savior and asked for a dance. She could see the seething in Neal's eyes as Emma accepted. She understood his jealousy as she watched the love of her life go off onto the dance floor with Mr. Grabby Paw.

She couldn't watch him grope her any longer, she decided to look for the customary mistletoe they would no doubt have everywhere. She circled the gym twice and couldn't find one trace of the stuff. _'What the hell?'_ she thought to herself. Belle tapped her on the shoulder and Regina whirled around. "They don't have any mistletoe!" she exclaimed in the quietest voice she could muster. "Yeah I noticed that too." Belle said nervously. "Now what?"

"Now I conjure some and hope Emma stands under it." The queen positioned herself between the two brunettes to hide her magical summoning. From that one plant she was able to duplicate it and have several magically appear around the gymnasium. Ruby perked up as one was right above Belle's head. "It _is_ tradition." Belle said shyly. Ruby nodded her agreement. Regina couldn't resist poking fun at the couple, "I could always do the honors if you're not up for it Red." She winked at Belle who broke out into honest laughter as Ruby's smile vanished and her face fell. Belle grabbed Ruby's hand and wrapped it around her waist, stood up on her tippy toes and laid into the kiss the wolf pressed into her. Several hoots and whistles sounded out from around the immediate vicinity from a variety of towns folk.

"Ok well we got you two covered. How am I going to get her under one of those damned things?" Regina was losing her patience. Red smiled as she broke her kiss and embrace of her love. "Leave it to me. Just go stand next to one. I'll bring her to you." Regina nodded and found one off in the corner, she didn't want to draw attention if the spell broke and Emma freaked out.

" _When_ the spell breaks. Power of positive thinking." Regina grumbled to herself as she marched over to the corner. Just as she was standing there waiting a tall young man approached her. "Care to dance m'lady?" he asked very cordially, his accent thick and his blue eyes muddied. Clearly he had been drinking, heavily, the smell of booze was thick on his breath. Over his shoulder she spied Blue surrounded by her army of nosy nuns. Regina worried her lip knowing the fairy would be able to _smell_ her magical glamour if the woman got close enough.

"No thank you, I'm waiting for my date." She said politely.

"Well he is a fool for keeping you waiting. Shall I keep you company?" he drawled and stood closer to her trying to get a peek down her dress at the ample bosom prominently displayed.

Regina smiled curtly and said a simple clear, unmistakable, "No. Thank you."

He scoffed at her, as if to say, how dare she rebuff his advances. "Your loss." He griped and walked away mumbling 'bitch' under his breath. Just as he was walking away she saw Ruby towing Emma across the room. She placed Emma dutifully under the mistletoe, waggled her eyebrows covertly and stated she would go get them a drink.

Regina took the opportunity to look over and smile shyly at the savior who noticed and pulled her lips tight in an uncomfortable grimace. It was terribly awkward, but Regina pushed forward. "You're standing under the mistletoe, savior." Regina said. "It is customary in our land that you are kissed." Emma looked around nervously. "That's customary in this land too." she grumbled. "My date isn't here, so..." She looked over at the redhead, recognizing her from yesterday at the shop. "I suppose you could kiss me, you know because tradition." The blonde shrugged her shoulders. The red lips of the ginger girl widened in a smile. She nodded her head shyly and leaned in to kiss the blonde, resting the palm of her hand on the taller woman's chest, covering her heart. A force pulsed out from between them and Emma pushed the girl off of her. "What the hell?" Regina gripped the upper arms of the savior to steady her. "Emma? Are you okay?" Regina's blue eyes darted over to where she had last seen the blue fairy and as she suspected the woman felt the disturbance and was looking around the room for it's source.

"REGINA!" the green eyes flashed as her memories were restored she tried to pull away from the strange ginger who held her tight. "I have to find Regina!" she said almost frantic.

"Emma, it's me. I'm in disguise. We need to leave this place right now." Regina said quickly. Ruby looked over from the punch bowl and gave Regina the thumbs up sign. The queen awkwardly returned the positive sign but pointed toward where blue was pushing her way through the crowd. Ruby saw and intercepted the fairy skillfully. Regina grabbed the hand of her knight led the savior out one of the side exits.

"What the hell? Why do you look like...? What am I wearing? What the hell?" The blonde was spinning out. Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde and transported them to her loft, she removed the glamour spell and crashed into the strong arms of her savior. Emma tightened her grasp around the woman she loves, "I feel like I haven't seen you in years! What the hell is going on? Why are we, wait, where the hell are we? Why is my bed here? What the fuck is going on?" Emma demanded in quick succession.

Regina chuckled through the tears that were streaming down her face. "I thought I had lost you." The admission broke Emma's reeling mind of her questions. "You'll never lose me babe." Regina's laugh turned into sobs as she had never been so grateful to hear the woman call her that horrible term of endearment. "Jesus Regina what the hell happened?"

"Y-your mother.." she spoke in short bursts as she let the words out from around her sobs. "s-she took you.."

"s-she took Henry.."

"made you drink a p-potion…"

"so you w-would f-forget me…"

"And you did..."

"M-My mother…?" Emma swallowed hard. "How long has it been?"

"Just over two weeks." Regina buried herself in the savior's arms, letting go of all of the tension, all of the fear, all of the frustration she had built up in that time.

"Where is Henry?" Emma asked quietly.

"I-I don't know." Regina said weakly. The magic lurched forward from the blonde as her anger grew. Her eyes paled over in white clouds. "Who else knows about this? My dad?" her stomach flipped at the thought of their wonderful day together when he was with her to buy the rings, _had it all been a lie?_

"I don't think so, Ruby noticed you were acting strangely, Belle has been helping me, I think we are the only three that noticed something was wrong. You were at the dance with Neal, I can't imagine he didn't notice the change in you from hating him to dating him." She said with a jealous color to her voice.

"I am dating Neal? What the fuck? How did no one think that was weird?" Emma was full on storming mad. "Where are we? Why aren't we home? Why is my bed here?"

"She moved you and Henry out of the manor while I was at work, Ruby said you have an apartment somewhere in town with Henry, and maybe Neal, I don't know honestly. The day you moved out…"

"The day I was _kidnapped…_ I didn't leave you Regina." Emma corrected softly.

"I didn't know that, not for sure." The queen said quietly as she removed herself from the savior's embrace and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You thought I'd left you?" Emma's voice was louder than necessary as her anger at the situation reached its pinnacle and she started to pace the room.

"I did at first!" Regina exclaimed in defense of herself. "I saw you at Granny's and you looked afraid of me and Neal grabbed me and threatened me…"

"He did WHAT?" white sparks popped between her fingertips.

"I didn't know what to think! Then Snow said _you_ said you got yourself into a situation you couldn't get out of and I thought you had changed your mind about loving the Evil Queen, that maybe I read into us, that maybe I made you feel like you were trapped!" Emma had her hands covering her mouth as she gasped at Regina's admission of events. "I know I don't love very well…" the brunette admitted her raw truth quietly.

"Regina, no…" Emma quickly walked back over to the queen who was still sitting on the bed, "No baby, you are…" she knelt down on the weathered and cold wooden floor in her baby blue gown, "Your love is perfect… You are my everything. You are my home. My safe place. You are my heart." Regina slipped off the bed and pushed the savior back on her heels as she straddled her lap. She wrapped her arms around the blonde "I thought I'd lost you!" Emma saw the honest heartbreak within her queen and felt her own heartbreak over the woman's pain. "Never. I am yours my queen." she wiped the stream of tears off of the brunette's cheeks and then kissed her passionately, pouring her devotion to the woman into her kiss.

After several moments of heated kissing the couple sat holding each other. Just feeling the love between them, healing them from their separation. "Where are we?" Emma finally asked shivering gently. Regina got up off the girl and lifted her off the ground. She threw a fireball into the fireplace and the room started to warm up. She then sat back down on the bed and led Emma to sit down next to her. "We are in the loft in the clock tower above the library. They deposed me from office. I'd imagine it was part of your mother's master plan to run me out of town, or let the good people of Storybrooke lynch me. I haven't been back to the manor since the day I was removed from office, but Rubes said it was, and I quote "trashed"." Her voice hitched as she spoke of her home. The memories she had of her son growing up there and the possibility of never feeling safe there again pulled more tears from her weary eyes.

Emma shook her head in shame, "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have listened to you. I thought she could fight the darkness. I thought…" Emma swallowed hard trying to push the lump in her throat down as she considered that her love could have died at the hands of her mother. "I should never have put you and Henry in danger."

"You don't know darkness Swan. Not like I do. Not like Snow now does. But this isn't your fault." Regina said sadly.

"So wait, you were taken out of office? Why? How? How did I let that happen?" Emma was confused.

"Someone, assuming it was Snow, planted evidence to warrant such an action. You aren't leading the investigation, David is." Regina said plainly. "No one thought that was weird?" Emma countered. "Ruby did." Regina nodded. "Belle was the one who convinced me that you weren't you. Mind you I hadn't really seen you in all of your cursed glory, but Ruby said you were a real pill." Regina said with a grimace.

"Okay. So how do we fix all this?" Emma said finally. Her mind reeling with all of the information Regina just laid onto her. "Bell and I found a way to pull the darkness from your mother, but it is dangerous. If anyone were to get a hold of it, they could turn her into a dark one, and only death releases you from _that_ darkness." Regina said solemnly remembering her mentor.

"We need to get to Henry. Get him back. Where do I live?" Emma asked. Regina shook her head. "I haven't been out much as I'm a hunted woman. You don't remember?" Emma shook her head. "No the last thing I remember is us in the kitchen talking about our future."

"Ruby knows. Call her." Regina said. Emma looked around. "I don't have my phone." Regina handed her hers.

Emma got the address from Ruby and Regina transported both of them to the location. She materialized them just outside the building as Regina had never been there before and Emma had no recollection of being there. They were both still in their Ball gowns and Emma realized she didn't have her keys. "Did you have a purse or something?" Regina asked nervously. She had considered reapplying her glamour to hide her identity, but didn't think they'd be in the open long.

"Probably with Neal." Emma said disdainfully as she pressed the call button labelled "Swan". "Henry should be home with a sitter or something." And just as she was saying that a little boy's voice sounded on the intercom. "What?"

"Henry, it's Mom. Let me in." She side glanced Regina who had a surprised look on her face.

"Emma?" He asked confused.

"Yeah I uh, lost…" she shrugs at Regina, "my purse. Just open the door kid will ya? It is cold out here!"

Regina's teeth had already started chattering by the time the boy had answered the ring. The buzzer made a loud welcoming sound and Emma was able to open the front door to the lobby. She had noted that the button that said Swan was apartment 4 so they looked around and traveled up two flights of stairs before they found the apartment they were looking for. Emma opened the door cautiously and poked her head inside.

A deep male voice greeted her, "You lost your purse? Really Emma? What the hell? Did you leave the ball with Hook?" Neal accused. Emma straightened up defensively as she wasn't expecting to see the man in her apartment. "What? No." she walked in a little more confidently, she reached back and grabbed Regina's hand as the brunette had stopped cold at the sound of the man's voice. "It's okay babe." the blonde assured her.

"YOU!" the man yelled and started charging forward towards Regina. "What did I tell you!"

Emma grabbed Neal with her magic immobilizing him. She cut off his protests with the will of her thoughts. A cool calm overtook the woman as she said to her son, "Henry go to your room, right this instant. I need to talk to Neal." Without hesitation the boy jumped up and ran into the back room and slammed the door.

"Emma you're scaring our son." Regina said quietly, touching the blonde's arm trying to help her control the anger she was undoubtedly feeling. "He won't remember this." Emma replied dryly as the bluish white magic popped and crackled between her fingers. Neal's eyes were wide with surprise that his girlfriend was holding him with her will.

"You." Emma said with malice. "You think we are together, don't you? How could you think that?" she spat. "How could you - you think I woke up one day and suddenly forgot what you did to me, how you broke my trust, my HEART? I was very clear with you Neal. Didn't I seem odd to you? Didn't it seem ODD that I didn't know who the mother of my son was?"

His eyes pleaded with her, but he couldn't voice his protests.

"And then you grab my girlfriend? You threaten her? Who the hell do you think you are?" she demanded loudly, menace rampant in the words she spoke.

"Emma let him go, sweetheart. You could really harm him if you are not careful." Regina said quietly. "I don't want to have to deal with our son blaming his birth mother for the death of his father." She added for good measure. The mention of Henry broke Emma's focus on her anger and she let go of the man. Suddenly able to move he backed away from the women. "Explain yourself!" the blonde demanded once again.

"I-I don't know, you were like, you know, and I was like okay, and then we were like wow and…" Neal tried to explain. Regina rolled her eyes, "Thank god my son got his verbal skills from his mother." She said dryly.

"Neal, did you have sex with me?!" Emma almost shouted at the man. His sheepish grin told her everything she needed to know and she turned into her love's arms and started to cry. Regina held her and stroked her hair trying to comfort the woman, her eyes blazing purple at the man who violated her love, the simple fact that he looked so guilty, like he _knew_ the blonde hadn't been herself. This infuriated the brunette more.

"Get out Neal, and I swear on my son's life, if you tell another living soul Regina is here, I will kill you where you stand." She turned her head to face him, her eyes red from crying the greens of them glowing bright. "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" the savior bellowed.

Neal nodded, rejected and solemn, and left the apartment without a word.

A startled sob tears from the savior's throat as she hugged her lover closer trying to hold herself together. Regina felt her control snap, all of the emotions she had regarding the past two weeks flooded over her, overwhelming her. Regina held the weeping broken woman, all the anger she felt, the pain, the longing for her lover, the fear of the unknown over the last two weeks, came together and overtook the queen, destroying her resolve in its wake. The queen rocked the woman in her arms masking her own body shaking its release of the stress she has had pent up. Emma sobbed into the queen, "I'm so sorry!" tears streaming down her face, the blonde was breaking down fast and Regina acted quickly to hold her lover, and herself, together. "No. Don't. Emma, this isn't your fault. You're right baby, he should have known you weren't you. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you."

"No this is Snow's fault." Emma sniffled back her emotions as she clung to her girlfriend. Regina was quiet; not wanting to dissuade the girl from that course of thinking, but also didn't want to add to the fire she knew was brewing within the blonde. "Tomorrow, we fix this. All of it." Emma said confidently.

Regina nodded in agreement. "Now let's go fix our son."

"Can we change out of these dresses first?" Emma complained. "I really don't know how you wore this shit every damn day."

"I did it with the grace and the poise of a Queen." Regina smiled brightly trying to lighten the mood. Emma laughed through her tears, leaned in and pressed her forehead against the queen's forehead. "I love you."

Emma broke the embrace they had shared, but still held the brunette's hand as she looked around her apartment. "I have no idea where my bedroom is." She said aloud.

"Well let's check it out. We may be staying here until our house gets built." Regina said casually. Emma turned around and looked at her for just a moment, a mix of relief and admiration crossed her face and she nodded in an unspoken agreement. They climbed the set of stairs that lined the wall and saw the upstairs was broken into three large areas, completely open concept. The first area was a study area, fit with a computer and book shelves and everything you could ever want or need for work or school. The second area, which was separated by a single sided book case that faced into the study, giving it more privacy from the rest of the upstairs, was a living area fitted with a couch and lounge chairs, a big screen TV and game consoles. Regina scoffed as they entered the room, "I'm sure our son is in heaven here, we may not get him to move."

The third area was a closed in garden area that was solid glass, backing out to the roof where it looked like more trellis' could be used for a rooftop garden. "We may not get you to move either." Emma teased as she saw the brunette look appreciatively around the garden area. "Perhaps." She hummed, "I haven't seen your bedroom yet."

"Yeah I guess it is downstairs. The place is bigger than it looks." Emma commented. The women walked back downstairs and went down the hall they saw Henry disappear to. There were three doors, the second one had the saviors bedroom sign on it. Emma walked up to that door and traced her fingers over the glittered words. "She took the sign for my room at home." Emma said sadly, feeling as though her entire life had been violated, her home gutted, her girlfriend ripped away and abused, she had been forced into a sexual relationship with a man she hated, her entire world torn apart. She put her hand on the knob of the door and opened it slowly. It was decorated baby blue, with pictures of cardinals and landscapes of trees. "Wow, I hate this, I mean I really truly hate this room. Seriously, I can't believe I've lived here for two weeks without burning it to the ground." Emma mumbled. Regina picked up a figurine of a blue bird and raised an eyebrow, "The night is still young dear."

There was a small double bed with thin cotton blend sheets. Everything depicted nature or had birds on them, even the comforter. The closet was small as well and her clothes were crammed in every which way. The boxes that were moved here from Regina's place were still packed, neatly in the bottom of the closet. "I never unpacked here." Emma said. "This was never my home, and I knew it."

"Ruby said something to that effect as well." Regina agreed. "You weren't you, but there was a part of you who knew."

Emma pulled out a drawer where she guessed she would put her pajamas and pulled out two night shirts and two pairs of shorts. "Get me out of this baby blue hell hole." She turned around and lifted her hair giving the woman access to the laces on the back of her corset. Regina's fingers loosened them up and Emma was able to wiggle herself out of the dress. She went to take her bra off and Regina stopped her, "Help me first." She turned around and Emma unlaced the woman's back. Regina slid the dress down over her hips and tossed it on top of Emma's discarded ball gown. She turned around to face Emma who was looking at her with a hunger she missed seeing in the woman's green eyes. "You looked stunning in that dress Regina." Emma said at almost a whisper. Regina smiled coyly, uncovering her naked breasts, "And how do I look out of it sheriff?"

"Like a fucking goddess." Emma hissed. She reached out and grabbed at the brunette, her powerful hands wrapping around her hips pulling them into her. Her hands rubbing over the soft white cotton material of the queen's panties, grabbing an entire handful of the woman's ass in the process. She bent down and bit at Regina's neck, sucking the tender flesh into her mouth, marking the woman with a bright purple bruise. She whispered into Regina's ear, "Mine." She slipped her fingers into the thin band of the underwear and pulled them down Regina's legs. Kneeling before her queen she pushed her nose into the woman's soft curls and breathed in her essence. "Mine" she let out another claim and shuddered with need. She pushed Regina back onto the bed rather ungracefully and popped the back of her bra, pulling it off and removing her panties quickly. She joined her queen on the small bed covering the woman's smaller body with her own. Her thigh quickly pushed its way between Regina's, who opened up without a fight or even a hesitation.

"Oh my gods I've missed you!" Regina said breathlessly into the saviors ear, her hands trying to be everywhere on the blonde at once. Emma spent time kissing every inch of Regina, daring not to miss a single spot. Emma worked her way down and as she got to the queen's thighs, Emma miscalculated how much bed she had left and in true Swan fashion, fell gracelessly off the bed. "Ow!" Emma said holding the back of her head.

"Sweetheart are you okay?" Regina sat up abruptly seeing her love was unharmed she started to giggle. "You are nowhere near as graceful as your name suggests Swan."

"Laugh it up chuckles." The blonde grumbled. She sat up on the floor and rubbed the back of her head. She immediately noticed a black string hanging out from between the mattress and box spring. She grabbed it and pulled. A small black velvet bag popped out from beneath the mattress landing neatly into the savior's hand. "What the hell is this?" she asked aloud. She opened the bag and poured the contents out into the palm of her hand with a ringing clink. She quickly closed her hand around the rings knowing full well what they were. "What is it honey?" the brunette asked but was leaning back on her elbows and unable to see.

"I-I was going to uh… try and…" she realized quickly she was going to have to ask the love of her life to marry her right then and there. She had wanted it to be perfect and romantic, like after a nice expensive meal or along the shore of Storybrooke. Not naked on the floor of a strange bedroom. She sighed and pulled out the engagement ring of the three, she palmed it and put the other two back in the bag stuffing it back under the mattress for safekeeping. She climbed back up on the bed and immediately kissed her queen putting all of her love behind it making the woman groan under the weight of it. She broke it suddenly and said, "I am in love with you Regina Mills, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She un palmed the ring and held it up between them. Waiting for the queen to focus on it, she added, "Will you marry me?"

"Uh what?" Regina was properly startled. She looked at the ring baffled. "Be my wife, Regina." Emma clarified with a hope in her eyes.

"OH!" the brunette exclaimed and covered her mouth in shock. Ebony eyes fill with tears as the realization hit her. She finally looked back at the ring, it is perfect. She is stunned motionless and Emma cleared her throat. "Is that a yes?" Regina nodded her head slowly and put her left hand out. Emma slipped the ring onto her ring finger and it fit perfectly.

"How did you-? When did you-?" Regina looked at her finger in awe, then back at her lover. "Yes. Emma Swan, I will be your wife."

"So it is safe to say you are surprised?" Emma chuckled at her fiancée's awestruck look. The queen nodded, tears of joy streaming down her face. She launched into the woman above her, pulling her down into herself. "I have never been so happy." Emma kissed the brunette's tears away, circling in on the woman's lips. Before they dove into another deep kissing bout, Regina repeated her question. "When did you do this?"

"The day I asked you if we could build a house together." She smiled shyly.

"Where did you find this? It is perfect!" she looked back at it, admiring the craftsmanship, the intricate designs along the band, the tiny little swans on either side of the diamond settings.

"I had it made." She admitted modestly. "I'd been looking for some time, for something that was us, you know? I couldn't find anything that I loved. So I just drew it out and took it down to the jeweler and had them make it."

"Emma… it is perfect." The queen shook her head in amazement at the depths of this girl.

"Want to see mine?" Emma asked coyly. The queen nodded her head emphatically. Emma sat up, reached down and pulled the bag back out and dumped the contents out into her hand. She handed the smaller band to Regina, "This is your wedding band. It is designed to interlock with the engagement ring to make one solid ring."

"My gods Emma!" she looked at the band carefully, holding it with much reverence. She then noticed the inscription. 'Swan's Queen'. "I love it. I mean I really truly love it Emma. It is perfect."

"You can't wear that part until you marry me though. So hand it back." She said in a teasing tone. Regina handed the band she couldn't wait to wear, back into the savior's outstretched palm. Emma held out her other hand that held her own ring. "This one is mine. I can't wear it until you marry me either, so I guess we are even." Regina took the thicker ring from the blonde's hand and studied it. It absolutely suited her engagement ring. She turned it around in her fingers looking carefully at the detail. "Are those tree branches?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, the apple tree, like your crest. On yours you have something of me, and on mine I have something of you. So no matter where we are, we will always be close to one another." She grinned a half smile and blushed lightly. Regina flipped it around and looked at the inside the inscription read, "Her Majesty's White Knight" Regina whispered, "Mine." Emma nodded in agreement.

"Do you like it?" Emma asked.

"I love it. All of it. It is perfect. It is us. I don't want to wait, I want to marry you as soon as possible." Regina said.

"I had an idea about that too…" Emma said quietly.

"Tell me!" the queen demanded, her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"When I asked you if you wanted to build a house, I kind of already had a place picked out. It is outside of town, on the northwest border. There's a little creek that runs along the property line…"

"I know the one you speak of." Regina nodded her head in remembrance.

"You do?" Emma asked surprised.

"Yes Emma, I did create this town you know." she said with a smirk. "It was a bit of undeveloped land Gold had given up to the town. Right now it doesn't really belong to anyone, the rights were never officially taken over by the town. We could easily take possession of the deed. A thank you from the fine people of Storybrooke, to their savior who always comes through." Regina chuckled.

"Or an apology for falsely accusing the mayor of criminal activity and deposing her from office." Emma added.

"It is a big piece of land. 90 acres." Regina said.

"Really? I didn't know it went that far. Wow! Still though, there is a spot in the woods, a clearing near the creek, I want to marry you there. It is beautiful." Emma announced. "Eugena is a registered justice of the peace, I thought she could perform our union."

Regina looked at her fiancée with startled amazement. "You've really thought about this haven't you?" Emma smiled shyly, "Yeah. I wanted it to be perfect, this," waving her hands around the strange bedroom, "isn't how I wanted to ask you."

"It _is_ perfect." The queen said softly. "You're perfect. I love you."

Emma leaned into her queen and kissed her gently. Regina leaned back pulling her knight into her. Their bodies melting together; the magic that was arcing off one another, flowing into each other, was heightening their passion. Emma rolled them over pulling Regina on top of her, kissing and touching and exploring one another. Regina sat up and straddled her savior; Emma instinctively grabbed her hips to hold the queen against her.

Regina's hands slid up her own body, over her own soft perky breasts, up around her neck and finally tangled her fingers into her own dark hair as she pushed her wet center into Emma's tight abdomen. She rocked her hips back and forth spreading her desire over her knight. Emma looked up at her queen whose hooded eyes spoke only of her love and want of the woman below her. "You are so beautiful." Emma said in a deep husky voice.

"I need you to fuck me Emma." Regina replied, her hunger evident in the words she spoke.

"Jesus fuck that is hot!" Emma exclaimed, surprised at the woman's use of profanity.

Regina shifted back until her open center covered the blonde's mound, she pushed herself into it, bouncing herself to increase the friction. Emma's eyes are wide at the amazing sight of Regina Mills grinding herself against her, the brunette's breasts bouncing with each thrust, the low guttural growl emerging from deep within the woman motivated the blonde to take charge. She sat up, wrapped her arms around the tiny queen and flipped them over once more, never losing contact of their bodies. The blonde thought to herself as she ground into the queen, _'Fuck I wish I had our strap on right about now.'_ She looked around the room realizing they were not home and her mother failed to move the toy box she and Regina had in the closet. _'How inconsiderate.'_ She mused to herself.

As soon as she thought about the toy's location it magically appeared in her hand, the leather harness appeared around the blonde's hips, completely snug in place.

"Awesome!" Emma exclaimed. She sat up and slid the toy into its ring at the base of the harness.

Regina groaned out in desire as she saw what the blonde had in her hand, "Oh gods yes! Em-ma!" she hissed as new desire pulsed from her core. Emma wasted no time sliding the tip of the toy up and down the queen's sex coating it with her natural lubricant. She spent a moment teasing the queen's sensitive nub before Regina growled again and repeated the command a little more desperate, "Jesus Swan Fuck me now! Please?" With a satisfied smile Emma entered her queen who gasped out in pleasure. Her core expanded to take in the intrusion easily. Pausing a moment to allow the queen to get used to the size of it. Emma rolled her hips and started to pound into the brunette pulling all the way out occasionally only to sheath herself completely once again. Regina rested her hands on the savior's ass pulling her in with every stroke, each one pushing the queen further and further up towards her peak. Emma leaned to her side holding herself up on her arm. She hooked her free arm under the queen's leg, pulling her up, further opening her, gaining just a little bit more access. She fucked the toy into her tight hole, burying the phallus impossibly deep, the queen tumbled over the edge and her body rocked into her orgasm. The brunette screamed in pleasure with no regard that her son is in the next room or the fact that they very well may have neighbors below them. It was far too pleasurable and Regina couldn't hold it in.

Emma collapsed into her queen, the phallus still deep inside, she rolled her hips gently and she whispers into her ear, "Catch your breath your Majesty, I'm not done with you yet."

"Oh Emma…" the brunette panted, "I don't think I can… again…"

"Sure you can… let me show you…" Emma cooed. She stilled her hips and kissed down the brunette's cheek from her temple to her jaw, licking, nipping and kissing as she traversed. She slipped her hands down and covered her queen's sensitive breasts, kneading them gently. Her mouth found her way down and covered one of the hardened nipples her hand had worked up, biting into it then sucking it deep into her mouth.

Regina arched her back, pushing herself deeper into the savior, her entire body rejuvenated and new desire started to build deep within her. "Oh Emma!" she sighed in her pleasure, "Yes!"

Emma's hand slid up the queen's firm thigh and slapped it hard, the crack of the flesh echoed in the room. "Turn over, on your knees your majesty." Emma issued the command with authority. Regina did not hesitate to do as the savior has ordered. She sat up and bent over on all fours. Emma took the pillows from the head of the bed and stuffed them under the queen's hips giving her the support she'll need for what Emma had planned on doing to her. Emma grabbed at Regina's ass as it was displayed before her, her legs spread, inviting the blonde to do as she pleased. Emma smirked because she fully intended to do just that.

Emma dragged her fingers down the length of the brunettes spine causing the woman below her to shudder with anticipation. Her queen leaned forward resting on her elbows displaying her firm ass properly to the blonde. "Oh just like that baby. Yes!" Emma praised with delight. She dipped her thumb into the queen's slick sex. "You're ready for me again aren't you?" she asked knowingly. Regina nodded into the mattress silently, pushing back on Emma's infiltration craving more of the woman inside of her. Emma bent down and grabbed the woman's butt cheeks squeezing and parting them as she lowered her lips down to the woman's heat. Emma delicately slid the tip of her tongue over the queen's burning sex causing her to groan out in satisfaction. The brunette pushed back into the blonde's face as she heated up, craving more of the woman.

"Oh you are so needy baby, now you can't wait for me to take you again?" Emma purred. Regina begged as Emma thrust her tongue into the queen. "Please Emma!"

"Tell me what you need Regina, and I'll consider your request." Emma orders.

Regina's clit was engorged, throbbing and poking out between her lips, Emma found her and focused her attention on the queen's hot nerve bundle causing the woman to lose the ability to speak coherently. "I-I"

"Tell me now Regina!" Emma barked with authority, circling around her hard nub with her fingertips.

"Fuck Emma! I need you inside of me! Please!" the woman's begging properly satisfied the blonde and she straightened her form, resting the tip of her toy against the woman's opening. "You hold still. I'm setting the pace, do you understand?" Emma asked. Regina nodded in agreement and Emma slipped the tip into the queen's swollen folds. Inch by inch Emma slowly slid deeper, her fingers tickling the woman's clit vigorously. Regina whined through her panting breath trying hard not to push back on the savior, her need was growing quickly. Emma watched with baited breath as the toy disappeared into her queen, her own patience brimming on edge, she pulled out half way then drove back in fully with a satisfied grunt, grabbing the queen by her hips and pulling her ass flush to the savior's midsection.

"Oh gods YES!" Regina spread her legs wider bearing down on the woman inside of her. "You may move now your Majesty. Impale yourself on me…" having permission to do so, Regina started to thrust back against the blonde, slapping her ass against the woman's thighs, squeezing around the hard toy buried deep within her. As Emma thrust, she watched her queen's movements carefully, noting how close she was coming and after a few more pumps Emma slid her thumb into her own mouth wetting it thoroughly. Still grinding against her lover she slid her thumb against the queen's puckered opening, drenching the tight little hole with her saliva, Emma gently pushed her thumb inside. The new intrusion sent her queen over the edge, so much stimulus, Emma's hands working both sides of her, her phallus drilling into her, her hips bucking wildly she lost control of herself and they find out quickly, Regina was capable of ejaculation. Emma saw this incredible display of their passion and was quickly brought to her own climax.

After Emma milked every last ounce of pleasure from her queen they collapse against the bed. After a few moments Emma removed herself from inside her lover, and looked into Regina's weary, but clearly embarrassed face. She kissed her forehead, "What is wrong babe?" Emma asks.

"Emma, it felt like I may have urinated." Tears of shame crest over the apples of her cheeks.

"You didn't sweetheart. You just ejaculated." Emma said with a proud smile. "And I made that happen." She added haughtily.

"I've never done that before." Regina said, seemingly still confused and ashamed. Emma kissed her again and pulled the woman's body to cover her own. "Not a lot of women can, and fewer ever get so turned on that they do. It isn't something to be ashamed of; it is an amazing thing that we shared together."

This explanation seemed to satisfy the mayor, even though the mess made her extremely uncomfortable, she was pleased that her body was so in tune with the savior she could let go and tap into such a deep pleasure. She cuddled into the blonde's arms, "It was amazing. You're amazing." Her exhaustion took over and she slipped into a deep comfortable sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning Emma woke up early, her queen is still asleep tucked in neatly into her side. She looked over at the clock, 6:30 AM. Emma rolled her eyes knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. She looked down at the woman in her arms and her heart burst with love. Her emotion overwhelmed her and her magic started to crackle off of her.

"Stop loving me so hard, Miss Swan." The brunette mumbled into the saviors arm.

"I can't help it." Emma said with a laugh.

"I know the feeling." Regina yawned and turned into her fiancée. "Did you sleep okay?" she added realizing they hadn't moved an inch from the night before.

"Like a rock." Emma replied. "You?"

"The best sleep I've had since…" Regina's voice trailed off sadly. Emma pulled her queen into her, kissing her on her head, soft whispers of reassurance tickling into the brunette's dark hair.

"So what is our game plan?" Emma said after a few moments of quietly holding the woman beside her.

"Well, I think we should meet up with the girls today." Regina said, "You should probably talk to your father, maybe, about the investigation."

"We should bring Henry out of his curse first." Emma said Regina nodded as if that were not even a thing that needed to be said. "We need to be careful, Emma, maybe we should take the magical items your mother has from Gold's shop before we do anything, before she _suspects_ anything."

"We can break Henry's curse, I'll poof into their apartment and look for her magic stockpile, then we can meet back at the library to meet up with," Emma paused for dramatic effect, using finger quotes around the end of her statement, " 'The Girls' " She laughed as Regina realized she was poking fun at her. The brunette knitted her brow together, shoving the savior softly in protest of the teasing.

"We need to move my bed in here, this one sucks." Emma said off topic. "I mean, if we are staying here that is."

Regina nodded quietly, "I don't think I feel safe at the manor anymore. They broke the door in, I only had time to grab a few things before I had to leave. It may not even be livable. This place is as good as any I suppose." She felt the prickle of tears behind her eyes, but willed herself to be strong and hold them back. "The manor was never our home anyway." She reminded herself as much as Emma.

"No, but it was yours and Henry's." Emma said knowingly. "All of your memories of him as a kid are there. It can't be easy." The blonde had broken down the mayor's resolve and she allowed several tears to break over her lashes before burying her face into the savior's chest and hugging her tight.

After a few moments of comforting her queen her stomach growled loudly. "Okay then, I nominate you, for breakfast duty your majesty!" Emma exclaimed as she sat up pulling on the pajamas she had taken out the night before.

"I'd better! By the looks of your kitchen, my son hasn't had a decent meal in two weeks!" The brunette agreed, as she dressed herself in Emma's clothes. Emma shot her love a look of contempt, "What? I clearly fed him Regina!" she pouted mockingly.

"Kraft Dinner is not in any of the food groups dear." Regina said patronizing the blonde.

"No, but it is damn good eats!" The blonde replied triumphantly. Regina rolled her eyes giving up the futile argument.

They went out into the kitchen area to find that Henry was already up and playing on his Vita. Emma rushed over to him and plopped down on the couch in the sitting area, a big smile plastered on her face. "Hey kid!" she exclaimed.

He murmured his hello and ignored her otherwise cheerful display. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead expecting to feel the power of their familial love burst from between them. She is shocked when it doesn't happen, even more shocked that he shoved her off of him. "Cut it out will ya? You killed me on the boss fight! Jesus Christ Emma! What the hell is wrong with you?" he stood up and stormed out of the room back to his bedroom. Emma's eyes were wide with shock as she watched her son dash out of the room.

She looked over at Regina who was also stunned to silence. "Did he just swear at me?" she asked.

"Yeah, he did." Regina agreed with a exasperated nod.

"Why didn't the curse break?" Emma asked.

"I have no idea!" Regina replied at a complete loss.

"HENRY?!" Emma bellowed. "Get your skinny ass back out here kid!" She stood and folded her arms across her chest and watched as the petulant teen stomped back out into the room. "What?" his attitude was thick.

"First of all," she looked over at Regina seeing the heartbreak in the woman's eyes as her son completely ignored her. "You are the child. You don't swear at adults." He rolled his eyes. "Is this going to take long, I'm going out."

"Uh, it'll take as long as it takes, and you're going to school young man." Emma put on her best authoritative voice. It seemed not to affect the teen at all. "Whatever." He said and rolled his eyes again. She noticed as he dropped his arms to his side, marks on the inside of his elbow. She grabbed his arm and wrenched it toward her twisting his wrist so she could get a clear look. "What the fuck is that?" she demanded not minding the fact that she had just got done telling the kid not to swear.

"Nothing!" he yanked his arm away. "Not like you give a shit, Emma! Go off and play with Neal that's all you care about doing anyway!"

"Oh it's Neal now? Not 'Dad'?" Emma latched onto her own anger as she was drowning in his contempt for her.

"When the hell did I ever call that asshole Dad? Seriously have you lost your mind?" his eyes blazed with his anger towards the blonde.

Seeing that the blonde was losing the battle for dominance Regina stepped forward putting her hand on her lovers shoulder for support.

"Whatever, I don't care! Just leave me the hell alone, _EM-MA_!" he shouted at his mother and stormed out of the apartment.

Emma was frozen taking in the words the stranger who wore the face of her son had thrown at her. "That is what he would have been had I raised him?" she whispered.

Regina turned to comfort the woman but the blonde pulled away, "No! Regina! Look at what I did to your kid! He was amazing with you! With a total fuck up of a mother, he is fucked up! He has little cuts down his arm, he… he…." Her voice hiccuped as her emotions bubbled up to the surface and tears fell from her eyes.

"Emma, it is the curse. It made you date Neal Cassidy for crying out loud! What did you think erasing Henry's past would do to him? And who knows what he thinks happened to him! Snow can cast a curse but she has no idea how to effectively weave a spell." Regina said reassuringly.

"He hates me Gina." Emma collapsed into her lovers arms. "That is why the curse didn't break." Her eyes grew wide at the realization they may never get their boy back. "What are we going to do?" she whispered lost in her fear of losing the child she loved.

"We are going to find out what he thinks happened to him and work through it as a family." Regina said confidently. "But let's have some breakfast, and take care of _your_ mommy problems first."

Regina transported herself to the loft where she had been staying and gathered up some of her belongings. Once she was packed she went downstairs to see if Belle was up yet. Ruby answered the apartment door her hair disheveled and sleepy. Regina had a knowing smirk on her face as she greeted and walked past the brunette.

"Where's Emma?" Ruby asked anxiously.

"Fear not Red, our Savior has returned to us. She is at Snow's collecting the magic items she took from Gold's shop." Regina replied.

"Good. You need to stay here though, I guess Neal is stirring up shit saying the Evil Queen is plotting revenge and getting the townsfolk all up in arms." Ruby informed the queen.

"That little son of a Dark One—" Was all she got out before Belle emerged from one of the back rooms.

"Good morning your majesty, care for a coffee?" she asked sweetly handing Regina a mug. Ruby gasped as the queen took the mug from the auburn haired beauty. "Regina!" her eyes focused on the new jewelry the woman was sporting.

"Oh, right." The older woman said sheepishly. "She proposed." Both women crowded around her admiring her new ring, each prodding on about its beauty and craftsmanship.

Emma materialized behind the women. "Hi guys, a little help?" her arms overflowing with magical ingredients and paraphernalia. Belle rushed to the woman's side and grabbed the basket from her hands, as soon as her arms were vacant of their burden Red practically jumped into them. "It's you? Is it really you?" she asked as she hugged her friend. "Yeah Rubes, I'm back." Emma said with a surprised laugh.

"I've missed you so much!" Ruby exclaimed emotion brimming as she squeezed the savior with all of her might.

"Dear, I'd prefer she live to see my wedding day." Regina said calmly sipping her coffee. Ruby released the woman and kissed her full on the mouth. "You scared the shit out of me, don't ever do that again!" she scolded.

"Right. I'll never unwittingly take a forget-my-true-love potion, ever again!" she mocked back at the brunette with a chuckle.

"Where is Henry?" Belle asked noting that his two mothers instantly became sullen at the mention of his name.

"I couldn't break the curse." Emma said defeated. "He hates me." A traitorous tear slipped out between her tight hold she had on her emotions.

"Well, I'm not surprised." Ruby said casually.

"What the hell does that mean?" Emma raged, completely offended.

"You've been preoccupied between Neal and _Hook_." Ruby took a step back as she saw her friend's magic brim to the surface. "I also had a talk with him last week, I was worried about you, it was before I realized stuff was messed up, I figured the kid would know what the hell was wrong with you." Ruby explained.

"What did he say?" Regina asked interested.

"He made mention of an accident he had, he said it like I'd know what the hell he was talking about." She shrugged, "I just let him talk knowing some shady shit was going on. I thought maybe it was Regina." She looked apologetically at the woman. "I didn't know what to think though. He said he couldn't remember his past, but his Gran told him about his mother and how she rescued him from the orphanage here, that his Gran said Emma had never intended to give him up, that the state took him away because she was in jail and it took her 10 years to find him, but after she did," The green eyes of her younger friend met Emma's, "he thought that you had regretted the effort because since he could remember, all you've done was ignore him and leave him alone." Regina rushed over to her love and held her as the weight of this news hit her hard and her knees buckled. "That was the day Belle convinced me that there was something seriously wrong going on in town."

"How could she do this?" Emma cried out. "No wonder he hates me!"

Belle asked in a panic as she was going through the bundle she had taken from the blonde when she got there, "Emma where is the book?"

Emma's focus snapped to Belle. "What book?"

Belle described the book for Emma so she could return to the loft and retrieve it immediately. As soon as the savior disappeared, Regina sat down on the couch in a huff shaking her head at their predicament. "How are we going to get Henry back?"

"I had lunch with cursed Emma and as we were talking, she was talking about her family and how happy she was to have them, but her words didn't match her emotions. She had started to cry right there in the diner, she didn't even realize she was doing it. I thought then, that maybe somewhere inside of her, she knew she didn't have her family at all. Maybe somewhere inside Henry, he remembers the love he has for his mother." Ruby explained carefully.

"She already tried to kiss him, it didn't work." Regina said angrily hating to repeat herself.

"I meant you, Regina. You're the mother he has always known." Ruby said softly.

"But after Emma broke the curse, he was so angry with me, he said I wasn't his mother!" the brunette cried out, tears streaked her face at the memories of the harsh words of her little boy.

"He was a kid who felt hurt and betrayed. He lashed out. He never stopped loving you Regina." Belle added as she sat down next to the former mayor.

"You really think so?" Regina said hopefully.

"I know so." Emma said definitively and handing the book in question over to Belle. "So how do we fix up Snow? Gina said you guys had something?" The blonde asked eagerly.

Belle stood and went into the other room to fetch the book she had taken home from Gold's shop to study. She gave the book to Regina and allowed her to explain the details of the enchantment.

"So essentially we are leeching the darkness out of her?" Emma asked. Regina nodded her response but worried her lip.

"Regina?" Ruby asked tentatively, only continuing her question when the brunette turned her attention over to her. "Why haven't you ever done this to yourself? I mean, you've changed so much from when you were the Evil Queen, but that day… when you took out your heart… was truly frightening. I was just wondering if you have ever even considered it?"

"I didn't know it was an option. I know much about magic, but not as much as the Dark One, he taught me what was useful for him to get what he wanted, nothing more." Before Regina could answer the actual question posed Emma interrupted her.

"This isn't the way. Not for Regina. She is stronger than Snow White. She can live with the darkness; it made her who she is. She is not good, nor is she evil. Not black. Not white. Grey. I love every part of who she is. I wouldn't change a thing about her." Emma stared poignantly at her friend, a subtle warning to drop the subject that the wolf instantly obeyed.

After a moment of awkward silence Belle piped up, "So how do we get Snow's heart?"

"I think I need to go see Dad. He will hopefully help me."

"You're not thinking of telling him the plan, are you?" Regina asked nervously.

"Not all of it, no. You guys head back to our apartment," Emma looked at Regina stressing the term 'our' for her benefit. "Get this stuff set up." She held up the book and handed it back to Regina. "I'll go talk to David, and find a way to get Snow there."

"What shall we bind the darkness to?" Regina asked the savior quietly as the other two women got up and moving towards their collective goal. Emma took off her swan necklace Neal had returned to her and handed it to the queen. "It's time I let go of some things. Besides I've got all new reasons to be pissed off at the guy."

"Yeah we'll need to address that, apparently he didn't heed your warning from last night dear." Regina kissed her lover and took the necklace. Emma rolled her eyes, "Of course he didn't. Guy never listens to what I _say_."

"Be safe Swan." She whispered as Emma disappeared in a cloud of bluish white smoke.

"Daddy?" Emma called out into the quiet station. She heard the familiar wheels roll back along linoleum as her father backed away from the desk in her office.

"Emma? What are you doing here? It's your day off, I figured you'd be home with Neal." He noticed the flinch his daughter tried to hide at the mention of the man's name.

"No, Dad. Where is mom today?" she asked casually.

"School probably." He shrugged. "What is going on?"

Emma was still hoping he didn't know Snow's plan, but was still hurt that her father hadn't noticed her change, or if he had, he hadn't helped her. "Did you know she poisoned me?" Emma asked unable to pull punches with her father, the anger of her voice made the question tremble from her lips.

"Poison? Who? Your mother? No! What are you talking about sweetheart?" he asked perplexed.

"You didn't know?" tears started to fall from his daughter's eyes as she looked up at him with her big green eyes, hopeful that he was not part of the plot to rip her away from her happiness.

"You remember?" He said quietly. "How?"

"YOU KNEW!? Did you help her?!" she shouted the demand.

"NO! She said you two planned it, that the Evil Queen hurt you and Henry and you couldn't bear to live with the memories any longer so you took the potion she got from Gold." He defended himself adamantly.

"I NEVER!" the anger in her voice and the rage in her eyes told him his wife had lied to him and he sat back down in the chair behind the desk, before his weak knees gave out on him. "She is my true love Daddy, why would I do that? I was happy! I was going to ask her to marry me! Didn't you think it odd I changed my mind literally overnight?" she accused bitterly.

"I didn't know you were seeing her, like that." He said plainly.

"You came with me ring shopping!" she shot back at him forgetting that there was a good chance Snow had used the potion on her father as well.

"I—I don't remember—that." He stumbled his words in confusion.

"She dosed you too." Emma said sadly reigning in her anger.

"What are you talking about Emma?" Emma sighed and explained to her father in detail what had happened and what she speculated. He looked skeptical at first, but as she relayed more and more information warning bells he had been himself ignoring started ringing loudly and he ended up believing every word she had said.

"You know your investigation into Regina is bullshit right? I mean, tell me you've figured that out at least." Emma asks coolly preparing to defend her love at the mere suggestion of impropriety.

"Yes. I'm aware." He said solemnly. "Are you sure Snow is behind this too?" he asked hopeful that perhaps his daughter was wrong. She nodded her head, "I know she is David."

"So how do we fix it? I assume you have a plan, otherwise you wouldn't be here." He said cynically.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Bring _your wife_ over to my place tonight for dinner. 5:30. Don't be late." Emma said annoyed at her father's tone, she turned away from him and walked to the door. "Oh and," she turned back, "Don't mention this conversation to her. I've got a plan that doesn't involve locking her up or worse… You'll get your precious _wife_ back, just as she once was; just don't tip our hand."

"Emma, I'm not…" he started to defend himself but she just raised her hand, remembering to not think about him not speaking as she had done to her mother once before.

"Just, I'll see you tonight okay? And would you mind clearing my fiancée of all criminal charges? That would be great." She added with bitter snark. She turned and left the station to go back to her house and prepare for Snow White's arrival.

The women prepared the complex spell, Regina leading the way. She directed the other women sending out Emma and Belle occasionally for ingredients she needed and they were able to enchant Emma's necklace. Once they were finished Belle and Ruby said their farewells, wanting some much needed alone time, they were holding hands as they left the apartment.

Regina set down the jewelry and let out a sigh, "Now all we need is your mother's heart. Did you warn David of that part?" Emma wrinkled up her nose and shook her head looking apologetic to her queen.

"I was kind of bitchy and didn't go into any of the details." The savior shrugged. "If he has a problem with it, he'll deal with me."

"You know I hate defending your parents. I don't know why you insist on putting me in a position where I feel I need to." Regina pouted as she wrapped her arms around her knight. "This isn't his fault." She said soothingly.

"Yes, but it is hers." Emma rebutted. "He defends her, how could he… not know… that I…" her voice trembled with emotion and she couldn't finish her thought.

"The point is dear, that we got you back. You're here with me. We are going to get Henry back and he won't be a hoodlum anymore, but our perfect son. We are going to live happily ever after." Regina smiled brightly, her future had never been more clear.

"I think I'm going to puke." Emma looked positively green and ran into the back hallway to the downstairs bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach.

Regina filled a glass full of water and followed her love into the back of their apartment. "I'm hoping this is a stomach bug and not you trying to tell me something dear." She called through the bathroom door. She heard Emma chuckling from within the bathroom. "I think it was all the wooshing today, the last couple of times made me dizzy." She opened the bathroom door and handed Emma the water glass. "You should have told me. You don't have an unlimited supply of magic dear, even as the savior born of True Love, you have limitations." She put her hand to the blonde's head to check her temperature. "You're a little warm, but nothing to be worried about. No more magic for you today." Regina scolded.

"What about Snow?" Emma asked as she turned green again.

"Breathe through it honey. I will handle the enchantment, I know more about this stuff anyway." The queen said haughtily. Just as they were coming back out of the bathroom the doorbell rang. Emma looked at her phone, 5:20. "Close enough." She said.

"Ok," The queen took charge, "Invite them in and I'll immobilize your mother, then come out. We need the element of surprise in case she has anything we don't know about." She kissed Emma quickly and wished her good luck.

Emma went to the door as the doorbell rang once more. "Coming!" she called and quickened her pace towards the door. She opened it and greeted her parents. Her mother looked around the room concerned. "We aren't cooking at home sweetheart?"

"Uhhhhhhhh No?" Emma looked wide eyed at her father suddenly remembering she told him dinner and that is what he told her, and well it all didn't matter anyway because suddenly her mother was frozen in place. Regina stepped out of the shadows of the back hall and walked over to where the bowl and the charm had been set aside.

"What is she doing here?" her father roared.

"She is helping save your wife!" Emma yelled back. "I told you I have a plan, now sit down and shut up, _Charming_ , and let me be the savior!" David snapped his mouth shut and sat down on the loveseat that was in the greeting area of his daughter's apartment. The queen moved into the kitchen and was looking at the open page of a book.

"Take her heart like I showed you hon," Regina said over her shoulder and before David could object Emma plunged her hand into her mother's chest and removed the beating heart from within. She held it up to marvel at its power. "Okay I'll need complete silence to do this next part," Regina looked at David, "I mean it, things could get really bad really fast, so no matter what, silence." She commanded the authority like the queen she was and just as she turned back to the book, the front door opened and Henry walked in on them.

"Gran!? EMMA? What the fuck is going on?" Henry was shocked at the sight of his mother holding a heart in her hands, his grandmother seemingly lifeless, yet vertical and some woman standing over a witch's cauldron and an open book.

Regina cringed at the language that her son was suddenly comfortable using and then flicked her hand and immobilized the boy. "We don't have time to deal with him right now." She looked over at David and directed him, "Be a dear and close the door. I'd hate to turn your wife into the Dark One by accident."

"You're not helping." Emma said under her breath as her father's eyes bulged out of his head.

"Yes well, let's get on with it." Regina said sweetly. She spoke the words from the spell into the heart in Emma's hands as she held the necklace above it. The darkness that swirled around inside the red beating muscle started to lift out and get sucked into the metal. Once every last drop of the darkness was pulled out, the necklace shimmered a green ominous glow then a light green wave of energy pulsed out in a single burst. Regina turned and carefully set the necklace down into the velvet lined box she had previously housed her own heart in days earlier. She walked over to David and pricked his thumb with a pin drawing out a drop of blood and using it to cast a blood magic lock on the box. She also put a shifting spell on the box so only David could see it and warned him to guard it with his life.

"If anyone gets a hold of this David, they can use it to turn your wife into a Dark One. You are the only one who can see it, you are the only one who can open it. Put it somewhere safe." He pulled his bleeding thumb out of his mouth and turned to the queen, "Thank you Regina." She bows her head slightly in his direction then turned to Emma directing her on how to return the heart safely.

"Must we take the immobilization spell off of her? I must say she is much more pleasant this way." Regina quipped.

"Yes, and Henry too." Emma said to a pouting Regina. "You never let me have any fun!" the queen complained.

She released both Emma's mother and her son with the flick of her wrist. Henry instantly turned and ran from the apartment as the sight he saw had been just too much for the kid to handle.

Emma called out to the boy but it was no use, he was gone. Snow was grasping at her chest as David was holding her gently in his arms. "What happened? What is going on?" Snow looked around at her loved ones around her, and Regina, she was confused and looking for answers no one was giving her.

"You're safe." David said into her neck as he hugged his wife close.

"We need to find Henry." Emma declared.

David let go of his wife for a moment and told the women he may know where the boy had run off to. "He has been spending time out at the forest camp with some of the older lost boys." Emma huffed at the news, "Those kids are only out there because they refuse to stay with the families we found for them."

"Some of those boys had just been on that damned island too long. How many of them are out in the woods?" Regina asked.

"About 6 or so, not including our son." Emma replied.

"Okay, let me go, you deal with this, and I'll go get him." Regina said as she walked over to where she had hung up her jacket by the door.

"Okay, but…" Emma's face held the worry she felt about her fiancée going out alone. She walked over to the brunette who already had her winter coat on. "Just be careful." She wrapped her arms around the woman, not caring that her parents were still there and watching them she kissed Regina hard on the mouth. "Go get our kid babe." She smirked at the disgusted look on Regina's face at the term she continued to use. "Have fun, SWEETHEART." Regina replied with snark and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke from the blonde's arms.

"Uh Emma? What the hell is going on?" Her mother demanded from behind her.

Emma explained everything, from her curse on Ruby, Henry, David and herself to Regina's removal from office to her asking the mayor to marry her.

"She's the Evil Queen sweetheart!" Snow said firmly.

"She is trying to change! Which we can all attest to the fact that is in fact a difficult thing to do, as you yourself _couldn't_ do it!"

Snow repeated her only defense.

"Jesus! Why do I keep having this conversation? I found out quite a bit about our 'Evil Queen' on Pan's island. About how at every turn she had Rumpel goading her, breaking her down. Not to mention her mother!" Emma shouted towards her parents. Her mother's arms were firmly crossed defensively shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Yes, the mother she joined up with to terrorize us! She would have killed all of us!" Snow reminded.

"Yeah! _Of course_ Regina joined Cora! She was her mother! It wasn't like we gave her any other choice! It wasn't like she had any of _us_ on her side! We accused her of murder! She was alone! Again!" Emma had let her emotions rise too high and she felt her icy magic well up making her dizzy yet again so she calmed herself once more before she continued. "For the chance at Cora's love, she gave into that woman's will, but you know what? _You_ killed her. You killed the one person she had always desired love from, just as she was about to get it. And guess what ma? You're still alive! You're here to be able to try and talk me out of my happiness. That is a testament to how much she has changed. and she _has_ changed, mom. For Henry. For me, but most importantly, for _herself_. The one thing Regina has wanted her whole life was unconditional love, and _now_ she has it. From me. And I have it from her. We both trust in it, in each other. You don't have to like it, but you do have to respect it is my choice. And I'm happy." She looked at her father searching for the acceptance she was trying desperately not to crave. "Really, really happy."

Snow closed her eyes and let fall the few tears that had brimmed beneath her eyelashes and quietly said, "Okay."


	19. Chapter 19

Regina materialized outside of the camp David had indicated the lost boys had been living. The sun had started to set, and the woods around them had begun to blacken for the night. A large fire burned in the center of their makeshift camp and she saw several boys huddled around it trying to keep warm. She waltzed straight into the camp and one of the boys called out "It's the Evil Queen!" Several other boys stood and started to back away from the known to be dangerous woman. Their clear 'leader' strode up to her holding a large heavy stick and asked what the hell she wanted. "I'm here to speak with Henry." She said in a mild tone.

"Maybe he doesn't want to speak to you, your highness!" the boy snarked back looking around at the other boys who were snickering.

"It is your Majesty, son, I am your Queen. Show some respect." She snapped back. She pushed the insolent boy aside and strutted over to where her son was sitting drawing in a notebook. He was not wearing his jacket and was huddled up close to the fire to keep warm. His face was pulled into a permanent scowl and he was vigorously scribbling into his notebook pulling out images from his head. She sat next to the boy calmly and asked what he was drawing.

"My mom." He said gruffly.

"May I see?" she asks in response.

"It ain't done." He replied. She cringed at his use of vocabulary. She needed to get her son away from these uneducated thugs. She thought to herself.

"May I see one that is?" she prodded the boy, hoping to continue their dialogue. He flipped through his notebook and folded it open to the page he had chosen to share with her. He handed it over to the woman the other boys had a clear fear of. Regina took it in her hand and looked it over carefully.

"This is quite good, Henry, I didn't know you enjoyed drawing." She said with honest amazement.

"You don't know anything about me." He answered her defiantly.

"I know you are angry with your mother right now." She said knowingly. She touched the inside of his arm gently, stroking the fresh angry marks, trying not to succumb to her own emotion. "I know you have all these feelings and no way to release them, so you do this." She pulled his chin up so his hazel eyes met her dark chocolate ones. "Because it is a way to control the pain you feel inside."

"She doesn't want me." He said suddenly opening up to the stranger. "She has made that perfectly clear. She gave me away on purpose, they didn't take me from her! She doesn't even notice when I'm not there, she barely notices when I am. She spends more time with Neal and Killian than she does being an actual mom!" the anger in his voice dripped heavily from his words. She can see the boy is in serious pain and it broke her heart to think her child believed he is unloved and unwanted by either her or Emma.

"You have a family Henry, a family you can't remember." She tried the truth in hopes it pays off. "You have two mothers who love you." He looks at her with a scowl, but a single tear runs down his cheek. "We love you and want you to come home darling." She leaned forward and kissed the top of the boy's head. A ring of brilliant white bursts from between them, pushing a blast of energy out in every direction.

"Mom?" the boy is startled. "What's going on?" The relief on his mother's face reassured him and he crushed into her with a huge hug. "My little prince, I've missed you!" she exclaimed through her tears.

"Where are we mom?" he asked as he started to shiver and looked around the camp.

"I'll explain everything when we get home darling. Give me just a moment, stay next to the fire." She stood and walked over to where the other boys were gathered watching the interaction between Henry and his mother. "Why aren't you with the families who took you in?" She demanded of them, looking each child in the eye. The eldest had to be 16, the youngest 9. The older boy who had greeted her when she first arrived spoke for the group. "We are the _misfit lost boys_ , no one wants _us_. They only took us because the savior made them!" he spat at the queen.

"Really?" the queen drawled. "You think each of the families who volunteered to take you in, to spend their hard earned money to feed and clothe you did so by force? That is what you think the good natured savior, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, does to get her own way?" A few of the younger boys looked around at each other. "Listen, some of you will come of age soon enough, I can't have you living in the woods on the outskirts of town until that happens."

"You can't make us stay with those people." The eldest one argued.

"No. However, for the few of you who are old enough to work, I can offer you an opportunity to learn a trade, this way you can build yourselves a future for when you do age out. As long as you are willing to continue your studies and reside in a home with adult supervision until you reach 18."

The leader considered the offer seriously. "What kind of trade?"

"There are several building and electrical projects being undertaken at the moment in town, I know Marco is looking to take on an apprentice, and Leroy is willing to teach anyone Electrical work, as long as they can put up with his drunken little attitude problem." She said with a smirk. "Michael our mechanic is also in need of help down at the shop. I'm the Mayor. I can assign who I please." She said simply.

"I heard they fired you." One of the other boys said, looking at her skeptically.

"Yes well, that is true, but I am engaged to the Savior, I'm certain my job security is fairly set." She threw back at the child. "So can you please go back to the homes that took you in? Maine isn't Neverland, it will snow soon, trust me, you think you are cold now, wait until January." She eyed the younger children specifically.

"We'll think about it." The leader said to her.

"You do that." She started to walk away from the kids, then turned back around, "You know, we realize you were taken from your homes, from your families. It wasn't your fault, even if you went with Pan's shadow willingly, you were children. You had your lives stolen from you. I just want to give you back some semblance of the life you should have had. Give it some serious thought, Jared." She said the leader's name and he was taken aback the woman even knew it, his surprise was written all over his face.

"Yes your Majesty." Jared said quietly as she walked back to her son, holding his hand she disappeared with him in a cloud of smoke.

"What are we going to do now Jare?" one of the youngest children asked him.

"We are going to go back to the families who took us in and try and make it work." He said, more as an order than a request.

Regina returned home with her son in tow materializing in their kitchen. The boy looked around and saw his blonde mother standing in front of the large bay window that spanned the wall of the room.

"Ma!" he said and ran over to her. "Wait, where are we?" he looked back at his adoptive mother and pointed the question to her.

"We will be staying here for a little bit, the manor has been deemed unlivable." His brunette mother answered.

"Why? How? WHEN?" the boy shook his head and looked around the place.

"We'll talk after dinner kid." Emma said wearily. "Go wash up alright? The bathroom downstairs is at the end of the hall on the right."

The boy wrapped his arms around his blonde mother. "I love you Ma. I feel like I haven't seen you guys in forever!"

"I love you too Henry." The blonde whispered and kissed his head. "Go on then, dinner is almost done."

Henry ran off down the hall, his sneakers squeaking on the highly polished wooden floor.

Regina looked over at her love, the worry she felt couldn't be hidden from the blonde. "I'm okay Regina, I'm just tired."

"Are your parents gone?" the queen asked noting they were not in the vicinity. The blonde nodded and reached over to pull her queen into her. "How did it go?" she asked knowing the blonde would have had to explain not only what had happened with her mother, but also their relationship to a not very understanding princess.

"As well as you'd expect. She's, well…" the blonde shrugged, "Snow White again, but at least her disapproval of my love life choices are going to be a little less Doctor Evil and a little more Judge Judy."

Regina chuckled. "And your father?"

"Well they kissed and broke his curse thing and he remembered that he totally supported us and everything so, you know, that was cool." She said as if she didn't care as much as she had. "He is going to present his findings to the council tomorrow and see about getting you back into office. Apparently the town's infrastructure has pretty much collapsed as the council can never decide where funding should go, and the basic day to day running of the town is in a shambles. They put Archie in charge of things, but he quit after a week citing emotional distress."

"Oh joy." Regina said dryly. "They tried to run me out of town and destroyed our home. Why exactly do I want to go back and pull their collective asses out of the fire?"

"Because it is what a hero does." Emma laughed out loud as she recited the idiom their son used whenever he wanted one or both of them to do something. Regina groaned. "Fine but you owe me Savior." She wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and reached up to kiss her. The savior's soft lips were moist and tasted like apple lip gloss. The queen hummed into her knight. "You taste amazing." She reached up to kiss her again.

"I love the way you taste me your majesty." The savoir growled into the queen. She pulled the brunette's hips into her own and whispered "I want you so hard right now."

"Patience my love, some family alone time is in desperate need. Our son has been neglected for far too long." She made a point to pull the blonde into a passionate kiss to promise a reward for the patience she was demanding.

"You're right." Emma broke from the embrace and went into the kitchen where the frozen lasagna was heating in the oven.

Regina opened the refrigerator. "The first thing we need to do is get some actual food in here."

"No the FIRST thing we have to do is move my bed in here." She pulled out the finished lasagna and set it on top of the stove to cool before serving. "And get your things and move them here."

Regina nodded, "I can magic the bed easily enough, but will you come with me to the manor? I'm not sure I want to see what they did to our home. I'd really prefer you were there." Regina said shyly.

"Of course babe, I had no intention on sending you there alone. I know how hard it's going to be." Emma shimmied up to the queen and lifted her up to a seated position on the kitchen counter. "You'll never be alone again. I promise." She kissed her queen gently. "Gods I can't stop wanting to touch you. I think I'm addicted to you." She whispered into Regina's ear as she nipped at her earlobe.

"That's okay by me." The queen said as she returned the kisses. "I love it when you touch me. I've missed it terribly."

Henry's heavy footsteps echo against the hallway as he plods out from the back of the apartment. He saw his mom's in a loving embrace in the kitchen and smiled as he plopped down on one of the chairs. "So what the heck happened?" he asked grabbing a banana from the basket on the counter.

"Dinner is done you know?" Emma said worried the boy would ruin his appetite. Regina hopped down from her perch and walked over to the boy and wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his cheek. "I love you darling."

"I lob ewe too." He said with a mouthful of banana.

His grin grew bright when he swallowed his mouthful to answer his birth mother, "I'm a growing teenager Ma, don't you worry, I'll eat!" he chomped down on another bite and then suddenly a banana filled mouth smiled wildly at his birth mother. His adoptive mother squeezed him tight then reached out for a banana of her own.

"Hey, where'd you get that?" the boy points to her ring.

"I asked your mom to marry me." Emma said with a proud smile.

"REALLY? That is awesome!" the boy exclaimed in his joyful little boy voice the women hadn't heard in so long. "So moms, tell me everything!"

They sat down for dinner and the women gave their son a white washed version of events, hoping to not traumatize him more than need be, but didn't lie to him either, answering questions as they came up, carefully taking turns as the story unfolded. "If you want, I can set you up a session with Archie, you know, if you feel like you can't talk to us about stuff." His blonde mother offered.

"I guess, that might be a good idea." He said shyly, not entirely sure he wanted to commit to more sessions with the doctor, but he had things he needed to sort out, feelings about his Gran and what happened that he wasn't sure he could work out on his own. They finished dinner and Henry offered to clean up the dishes while his mother's watched him lovingly. "Okay, you guys are being weird, cut it out."

"We just missed you darling." His brunette mother said lovingly. "Yeah kid, we're just glad to have you back." His blonde mother added as she stood and walked over to her son wrapping her arms around him. The teenager sighed, "Can you literally die by hugging?" Emma wrapped her arms tighter around the boy, "I don't know, want to test the theory?" she laughed at his Henry-esque brand of teenage angst as he rolled his eyes teasingly, secretly loving every moment his mom's spent on him.

"So wait till you see the upstairs, you are going to love it. We are going to have movie night tonight, just us, why don't you run up and go decide what we are going to watch." Emma said as she released him.

"Are we really not moving back home?" His tone was suddenly serious as he asked his brunette mother with a hint of sorrow.

"We'll see." As Regina replied, she glanced over toward her fiancée who moved around Henry and sat down next to her and held her hand.

"Even if we could, your Mom and I decided, before all this happened, we were going to look into moving, Henry." Emma helped the brunette. "We were kinda hoping to maybe build our own house; that would be cool right?"

Henry thought about it for a moment and looked between his two mothers then gave his quiet little knowing smile. "Yeah, as long as we are together."

Henry got up off his chair and headed towards the staircase that lined the brick faced wall on the other side of the room. "What's on the not-again-list for tonight?"

"X-Men!" Regina called out after him.

"Harry Potter!" Emma added.

"Which one Ma?" Henry asked to clarify.

"All of em!" she rolled her eyes at Regina who laughed knowingly.

"Moooom! Tell her she can only pick one!" Henry complained.

"Babeeee tell Henry, Harry's magic is stupid and unrealistic!" Emma whined. "You need fairy dust to make wands work Harry!" Emma stuck her tongue out at her son who ran up the stairs.

"It's like I actually do have two children." Regina shook her head at the mother and son whiner brigade.

"You love it!" Emma teased. "Come on, let's see if we can talk the kid into Star Wars."

"Okay, but he's going to want to watch Clone Wars." Regina wrinkled her nose at her least favorite of the franchise.

"Oh you get over the cartoon and you get some backstory on the franchise." Emma coaxed.

"We have a word for that already dear, it is called 'History.' The term 'backstory' is used by uneducated internet idiots who wear snapbacks and say ridiculous terms like YoLo. Which is yet another redundancy as we already have the term 'Carpe diem'." Regina scolded.

"HENRY?" Emma called loudly looking into Regina's dark eyes lovingly.

"Yeah?" he answered down the stairs.

"How about Clone Wars?" Emma asked loud and clear with a devious smile.

"Great idea mom!" The women heard him happily trot away from the staircase.

Emma held her hands up in the 'Rock on' hand gestures and mouthed, "Yo-lo!" and ran away from Regina who instantly swatted in her direction. "You're such a brat Emma Swan!" Emma laughed as she reached the bottom of the stairs, "Yeah, but you love me!"

"You're lucky I do!" Regina called after her and then grabbed a couple 1 liter cokes from the fridge and an iced tea for herself and followed the blonde's lead up the stairs.


	20. Chapter 20

Emma made her way down to Granny's Inn to go talk to Neal about getting him to open his father's vault, among other things. She was dreading the conversation, mainly because she felt violated and betrayed by the man who claimed to care for her. She was also angry that he had stirred things up after the ball. She had promised repercussions for his disclosure and she intended on fulfilling that promise.

She knocked on his door after settling down and controlling her magic, she was kicking herself for not bringing Rubes or someone with her to help her control her emotions while she dealt with him. She checked her jacket pocket one last time for the vial Regina had given her to collect his blood in and waited patiently for the man to open the door.

After several minutes and another not so patient knock by Emma the man finally opened the door. "Oh it's you." He said discontentedly.

"Yeah, it's me. You knew I was coming Neal." She pushed past him and entered his room. The place was a mess and stunk of stale beer and take-out pizza. "It is good to see you are living up to expectations." She quipped as she looked around his room.

"Yeah well it didn't used to bother you." He shot back.

"Didn't bother me when? When I was a teenager and didn't know any better or when I was cursed and you didn't bother to notice I wasn't me?" she snapped.

He folded his arms around himself curmudgeonly. "So what do you want, Emma?" he demanded. He was angry and annoyed and did all he could to make sure she knew he was angry and annoyed.

"Henry is back to himself too, by the way, since you haven't asked or checked on him." She dug into him irritated by his self-righteous anger at the situation he caused. "So glad you noticed my kid turned into an emo lost boy overnight and you couldn't think of anything but getting his mother into bed to do anything about it!" Her emotions started to get away from her and as a result her magic crackled in the air around them.

"So you are just here to berate me and tell me I'm a terrible father?" he pushed back at her.

"No." she took a deep breath and pulled herself back gaining control once more. "I need a sample of your blood."

"What? Why?" he was shocked and couldn't fathom the reason his ex-girlfriend would need such a thing.

"Does it matter? You owe me!"

"OWE you? For what exactly? The way I see it you toyed with my heart and played me the fool while you went off behind my back with Killian!" He shouted at her.

"Is THAT how you see it?" she walked up close to him and got right in his face so he would hear the low menacing words she was about to speak. "The way I see it, your kid and his mother were poisoned and instead of helping them, you ignored him and took advantage of me!"

"I love you Emma!" he shouted at her. "I thought you came to your senses! How was I supposed to know you weren't you?"

"Oh I don't know, spend five minutes with me and thinking with the head that houses your brain instead of the head in your pants! It took Ruby and Belle less time than that to realize I wasn't me, and neither one of them have spent as much time with me as you have!" Her face turned red with shame and anger as she spoke. "How could you seriously not know? How could you sleep with me? You knew how I felt, I _told_ you!"

"I wanted to believe you wanted us to be a family so bad, I guess I wasn't seeing things clearly." He said quietly looking down at his feet.

"Is that your excuse for not noticing my son was cutting himself?"

"Henry? What?" he looked positively horrified. "I didn't know!"

She turned away from him and said quietly, "That seems to be the montage of the day. Are you going to give me your blood or not."

"What if I say no?" he asked defiantly.

"Well, I'll see if I can use my sons, but I figured his father would step up and try and protect his kid from any further pain. Clearly I've got the wrong guy." She shot back at him.

"Yeah looks as though you do." He folded his arms.

"So be it Neal, way to prove you are the man I thought you were." She said and quietly left.

She heard him shout out as she closed the door and slam something against the wall as she walked down the hall. She had known it was a long shot to ask him to help them, that is why she hadn't mentioned what the blood was for. She didn't want him getting any ideas of going into Gold's shop and helping himself to any of the deadly magic housed within. She honestly didn't think he would, but made a mental note anyway to ask Regina to magically lock down Gold's shop, she didn't want to take chances.

She got back into her car and drove it down to Marco's shop, she wanted to get construction of her home started as soon as possible and knew he was going to be the quickest way to accomplish that. She took a deep breath and went in to greet the man.

"Sheriff Swan!" the man exclaimed with delight. "What can we do for you?"

"Marco, August…" she nodded at the little ginger boy tinkering with a coo-coo clock on the workbench.

"He goes by Pinocchio now, Savior." Marco said quietly.

"Right. I'm sorry." She said blushing.

"Not at all. What has brought you in today?"

"Do you have housing and development experience? I need some blueprints drawn up for a home I'd like to build." She said shyly.

"Of course!" he said with a large welcoming smile. "Come! Tell me your needs dear!" he ushered her over to his desk and they began plotting out the design of the Swan-Mills home.

Once the business part of their discussion was out of the way, Emma stood to shake the man's hand and leave, but he paused, "Sheriff, may I ask you a question?" he asked tentatively.

"Sure." She replied, a little nervous about the serious tone the man had taken.

"Have I done something to you, to offend you?" he twiddled an awl in his hand and wouldn't look up at her as he posed the question that had plagued him for months.

"No…" she looked away towards the boy happily working his craft.

"You don't like me very much though?" he asked knowingly.

She decided to be honest with the man. He at least deserved her respect. "After the curse broke, I was angry that as an infant I was put into a magical wardrobe in the care of a 6 year old boy and sent off to a distant land. It isn't you, Marco, and I know you had your reasons for wanting August away from the curse, as my parents did for why they sent me away. It just, in the end, I was still just an orphan who grew up with no one." She looked up at the old man, his brow knitted together, his face showing the pain he felt for making the decision he had made so long ago. "I'm working through my issues with it Marco. I don't dislike you, I just suffered as a result of decisions that were made, and I'm trying my best to deal with that." She finished with a pat to his shoulder. It was the best she could offer him, at least for now.

"I'm not sorry for saving my boy." He said quietly. "But I regret it cost you your childhood."

"Fair enough." She smiled and turned to leave the shop.

Emma got back into her bug and saw that she got a text from her love.

 _Crazy Hot Mayor: Dinner's almost ready, are you done with Mr. Cassidy yet?_

 _Emma: Yup, I'm on my way. He won't help us. Time to go to plan B._

She waited several moments for the queen to reply, but when she didn't, Emma decided to just drive home. Before she did, she made a rash decision and drove up to the manor. She wanted to assess the damage herself before bringing her Queen up there. She pulled up in front of the place and looked up the walk.

The external damage had been significant, all of the windows were broken, and one of the upper floor windows looked like it was covered in soot. 'A fire' the blonde surmised and rolled her eyes. She got out of her vehicle and walked up the familiar walk to the door that was off its hinges and laying on its side in the foyer. Everything and anything that could be broken or smashed had been, the pieces of Henry and Regina's lives littered the floor of what was her home. Tears threatened to fall, they pricked the back of her eyes as she surveyed the destruction. She knew it was a bad idea, but she had to see. She climbed the stairs, each of the bedrooms had various degrees of smoke and fire damage, the queens had of course, been the worst of it. Spray painted above the bed was 'Death to the Evil Queen', she quickly removed the paint from the wall magically. Regina didn't need to see that, even though Emma had already made up her mind that she would not be bringing her Queen back to this place. _Not ever_.

The woman's belongings were torn and strewn, most of which were burnt. She opened the closet door remembering their toy chest had a protection ward to keep prying teenaged eyes out of it, mainly. It sat on the top shelf completely unscathed. "Well thank you Regina for small favors." She said aloud as she took the little box off the shelf.

She noted that both Henry and her rooms, although burnt and destroyed, were devoid of belongings with the exception of their furniture. She was grateful Regina had saved her bed. She made her way downstairs and into the basement, which consequently was the only place the intruders hadn't touched. Regina had her cider distillery set up, her wine collection and some older furniture broken down and stored there. Looked like maybe Henry's crib and some of his baby clothes and stuff. 'Of course she kept that stuff, he was her little prince.' Emma exited the basement, after grabbing a few bottles of cider and wine. She put a protection spell over the entrance, she would be back to retrieve Regina's belongings from her cellar, but not until she had a place to store the stuff. She didn't want anyone getting any bright ideas and going down there to destroy what was left of her son's childhood.

She went into Regina's office next, looking for Henry's official documents. The entirety of the office filing was strewn over the floor. Emma used a quick-find spell she had learned from Regina some time ago to search the scattered paperwork, but came up empty.

"Perhaps she kept those documents sealed up somewhere safe?" she thought aloud to no one.

She sighed heavily as she looked around what was her home one last time, she magically fixed the door and locked the place down tight. She lost her battle with her emotions as she walked away from the manor and a sob escaped her throat as tears streamed down her face. It had been an emotional day and kicked herself for coming to this place. She felt dizzy and her stomach queasy from the stress of it. She pulled away from her son's childhood home and drove back down into town towards her family and their future.

She unlocked her apartment door and pushed inside balancing the box she held and the alcohol she carried. Her fiancée was standing in the kitchen looking the very definition of domestic goddess, hair and makeup perfect, a light red sweater with a low cut neckline and a pair of tight fitting black slacks and stocking feet. She removed the blue apron that covered her as she moved to help the Sheriff unload her burden.

"You went to the house, bad girl." The queen scolded with her all-knowing tone. "It was bad wasn't it?" Emma nodded her response, and Regina could see the girl had been crying.

"I don't want you going there. I'll get the stuff they didn't get to in the basement, but the rest of it is gone. I don't want you seeing it like that. Okay?" Regina looked down at the wine Emma brought. "Good choice dear, so they didn't get our toy box or the wine cellar. Well at least what is important is intact." She flashed a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and the blonde cupped her love's chin. "It'll be okay babe."

"I know." Regina replied and turned to take the bottles to cool in the fridge.

"Hey what's that?" a little clear vile sat on the counter of the kitchen filled with a dark substance.

"Oh that is Mr. Cassidy's contribution." Regina said nonchalantly.

"Regina? What did you do?" Emma's brow creased in her super-duper worried wrinkle and Regina shrugged her shoulders. "I took some of Neal's blood. We needed his blood, you asked him for it.."

"He said no…" Emma continued for the brunette astonished at the actions of the woman before her, but not exactly surprised.

"Well," Regina rolled her eyes at the annoyance of having to explain herself. "He should have chosen option A." Regina lifted her chin haughtily.

"Seriously what did you do?" Emma whispered as she moved in close to study the vial.

"He never knew I was there, I froze him, grabbed a few drops he won't miss, then left." Regina said as if that were a perfectly acceptable response to the situation.

"And you unfroze him…?" Emma questioned.

"I'm sorry dear?" Regina looked at the blonde confused.

"You froze him, took the blood, UNfroze him, and THEN left, right?" Emma asked.

"Oh right!" Regina flicked her wrist in the air breaking the hold she had on the man back at Granny's.

"REGINA!?"

"Oh he is fine dear, if he questions anything we'll just tell him he must have got ill and blacked out due to the overwhelming bacterial colony he has growing in that hotel room!" Emma stood in stunned silence then shook her head slowly. "No one saw you go in there right?"

"Of course not," she raised her eyebrow and pursed her lips. "Evil Queen 101, never leave witnesses."

Emma shook her head once again and laughed. "Thanks Regina, I wasn't looking forward to trying to open the vault with Henry's blood."

"It may not have even worked, although Rumpel's blood does flow through our son, it may be too diluted to work against a blood spell barrier." Regina said honestly then held up each bottle of wine for Emma to choose. "Red or white for tonight?" Emma scrunched up her nose in disgust. "I think I may skip the booze portion of our evening, I did some magic over at the manor and I'm still feeling it."

"How much did you do?" Regina looked at her love with concern.

"No much, but I was stressed out, you know, fighting with Neal. I just feel a little tired is all." She smiled brightly at her queen as she set the vial back down on the table. "Nothing to worry about your Majesty." Regina hummed her response as she stepped closer to her knight. "Darling, you need to take better care of yourself, it wouldn't do to have our sainted savior sick now would it? And if you are anything like your son when he falls ill, I will not hesitate to ship you off to your mother for the duration of your illness."

Emma scoffed, "That's cruel, even for you!"

"To you or to _her_?" the brunette inquired.

"To ME!"

"Well I earned my Evil title dear." Regina laughed. "Besides, we need you in top form if we are going to start transporting groups of people on a regular basis."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked confused.

"Well, when we get this portal device, we can't just let people go back and forth as they please. Someone needs to regulate it, to keep the citizens of both worlds safe."

"I hadn't thought about that." Emma said honestly.

"Well it is a good thing, I have." Regina said with extra snark.

"From what I've read, the mirror we enchant on this side of the portal will connect automatically with a mirror on that side, you know, or a reflective surface, whatever. In order to return to this exact mirror we will need to go back through the portal that connects to it. It is going to take our combined magic to make a connection, once we do though, it will stay open until whomever has the aperture device closes it down. However, I'm not sure about how long that will be, so we'll have to test it." She released the blonde and turned back to stirring the stew she made for dinner. "I sincerely doubt it will stay open indefinitely." She took a spoon full of the broth and held it up for the blonde to taste test. Emma hummed and rolled her eyes and nodded approvingly.

"We will need to keep the mirror, this mirror connects to safe, so I figure we'll need to keep it in a blocked off cave, or an underground cavern or somewhere where we won't get ambushed by just whomever as we step through the portal. That means one of us," Regina flicks her finger between herself and the savior, "Will need to travel with a small group of people in order to—"

"Whoosh them to safety?" Emma smiled brightly.

"As you say, yes, 'Whoosh' them to the outside so they can get to their final destinations. We can set up a schedule where people from the Enchanted Forest who want to visit, or come back to Storybrooke can meet up for the ride home."

"Have I ever told you how brilliant you are?" Emma grabbed the mayor's waist and pulled her against herself. Regina smiled brightly, "No, but there's no need dear, I have no doubts about my intellect." Emma laughed, not entirely sure if the queen was joking or not, but the smug look on her lover's face made her think that perhaps she was not, which made her laugh harder.

"We may also want to vet new people who want to come to Storybrooke, there were a bunch of people in Safe Haven when Snow and I were there. We don't know them, or their motives." Her heart began to quicken as worry flooded her body. She started to pace, thinking aloud, "Maybe someone who will be staying in the Enchanted Forest can monitor potential visitors, so we know who is coming and going between worlds." Emma added quite proud of herself for her contribution. Infrastructure may be the queen's strong suit, but security was hers, and keeping both worlds safe in this venture would be her top priority.

Someone buzzed the intercom at the front of their building and Emma turned from her lover's embrace to go see who it was. Neals angry voice demanded he be let in and as Regina started to march out of their apartment to go give the little spawn of the dark one a piece of her mind Emma stopped her. "Let me deal with him." The cool wicked smirk Emma adorned stopped the queen dead in her tracks. She waved her hand theatrically giving the blonde her royal blessing to go deal with their son's father a she saw fit.

"You did some magic something and violated my rights! I demand you return what you took from me Emma!" Neal was livid, his face beet red and an angry vein was pulsing to the surface in his neck.

" _I_ did nothing to you!" Emma folded her arms over her chest holding her jacket closed in the cold December air. "It is funny you use the term violated though, that's kind of ironic." The blonde jibbed.

"So it is just a coincidence that after you come asking me for my blood, which is pretty fucking creepy by the way, I happen to lose 45 minutes of my life and when I come to, my arm has dry blood on it?" He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a tiny pin prick showing a dot of red.

"I'd say you've had a little too much to drink and need to take better care of yourself. I was at Marco's after our little visit, go ask him." She said flippantly.

"Then it was your whore, I don't care which—" Emma pulled back and punched him. Blood instantly gushed from the man's broken nose. The response was as shocking to herself as it was to the man who was bent over in pain and she looked down at her blood covered knuckles, unsure of it was his or hers.

"That is just about enough out of you." She said calmly. "Now, unless you have anything other than speculation, I suggest you suck it up as if you were a man, and go home."

"You're going to be sorry for that, Emma Swan!" He spit out blood that had gotten into his mouth.

"I very much doubt that, Neal," She said. The patronizing look on her face infuriated him further "but... I did warn you not to tell anyone about Regina. You asked for it."

"I'll go and tell everyone in the outside world about this place!" he practically shrieked. "You know what they'll do to you!" he accused. She held back her knowing smirk and allowed a false sense of fear to touch her eyes. Clearly the man didn't know about their protection spell, she was truly grateful Henry got his smarts from her. "You wouldn't dare do that to Henry!" she cried out. The fear she pulled out of herself was surprising and she almost broke character and laughed at her own theatrics.

"He would be better off without you!" he spat at her, the anger and jealousy raged within him.

That hurt, she had to admit but came back nonetheless, "Maybe, but he is way better off with HER than either one of US!" she roared.

"I'll do it Emma!" he stepped back from her unsure if he had pushed the blonde too far in the heat of his anger.

"You don't have the balls." She sneered at him, "I should know."

He looked at her with contempt. "You can't stop me Savior!"

"We both know that isn't the truth Neal." She said with a smirk as she pulled her magic up just to the surface and his face lost its color. He backed away more quickly and started to run back to his motel room.

She turned on her heel and went back into her apartment. Regina was sitting quietly on the ledge of the bay window that lined the front of their apartment. The evening sun was spilling in behind her and highlighting the deep reds in her dark hair. She was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them and her chin resting on her arms. She glanced over at the blonde as Emma came through the door, but didn't make a move to get up. She simply commented, "You hit him."

Emma knit her eyebrows together, a sudden feeling of shame came over her, even though she knew she wasn't sorry for her actions, she was embarrassed her queen had witnessed her lose her control. "Yeah, I did." She simply said as she walked over to where her fiancée was sitting and stood waiting to be scolded. However the scolding never came, as the queen rested her cheek down on her arm Emma pushed her fingers into the woman's hair, feeling the luxuriousness of it. She rubbed her thumb just behind the brunette's ear eliciting a soft moan from the woman. "Are you angry?" Emma asked softly. Her queen shook her head no. Emma bent down and kissed the brunette on the crown of her head, "Come on then, let's eat." Regina reached out and grabbed the hand Emma had busted on their son's father's face, "We need to clean you up first." She said simply. Emma sighed as she had forgotten the mess her hand had been. "Yeah it was a gusher. I'll go get Henry and wash up."

"You might want to change your shirt too dear." Emma looked down where the man had spat his bloody saliva over her clean white tank. "Damn, well maybe I should have just hit him from the get go and saved us some of the headache of getting his blood?"

Regina clucked her tongue, "Lesson learned for next time dear."


	21. Chapter 21

The very next afternoon Emma and Regina met up with Belle and Ruby down at Gold's shop. They followed the auburn haired beauty down into the basement of the building. Emma shuddered with a sudden chill and Regina put her arm around her. "Are you alright dear?"

"Yeah, I can feel… something… down here." Emma replied. "It's making me queasy."

"If Rumpel locked it up, it is most likely really dark magic." Belle said, not meaning to eavesdrop, but in the confines of the space it was near impossible not to.

"Once we get the portal thingie out of there," Ruby thought aloud, "We should lock up the rest of the stuff. We wouldn't want any of it to get out." She added thoughtfully.

Emma turned to her queen, "I was actually going to suggest maybe warding the entire shop. There is no real reason anyone other than Belle or one of us should even come in here."

Regina nodded and hummed her agreement. "Let's secure the aperture device and then we'll worry about the rest of the shop shall we?" She knelt down on the floor where Belle had indicated her, and waved her hand exposing a sealed floor panel. She took out the vial with Neal's blood and dabbed a drop on her thumb and pushed it into the invisible barrier above the panel's latch. A shimmering sparkle of magic dissipated around the panel and Regina was able to open the door. All four women peered over into the opening on the floor, Emma flicked on her Maglite illuminating the cubby. Belle reached in and took out the cone shaped device they were looking for.

Emma huffed and turned away, "Ok can we close that up, the magic is making me nauseous." Regina looked up worried at her love who looked quite green as she doubled over putting her head between her knees. Regina closed the door back on the cubby and went to her girlfriend's side. "Is that better?"

"No not really. I think I just need some air." Ruby rushed to her friend's side, putting her arm around her. "I'll take her out, lock that back up." She practically lifted the savior, half carrying, half helping her walk back up the stairs.

Belle eyed the two suspiciously. "Is she alright?"

Regina hummed, "She is an elemental. Magic affects her much more strongly. Let's take an inventory of what is in here before we close it up. Just snap some pictures of the items and we'll try and figure out what this stuff is later."

Once they were satisfied they had images of each item in the cubby, Regina locked the panel back in place and cast a new blood magic spell using a prick of Belle's blood. "Sorry." The queen said as she jabbed the beauty's finger. "The town wouldn't feel safe giving me access to this stuff."

"The fact that you know that, and are not trying to control it anyway, is a testament to how much you _have_ changed Regina." Belle said supportively, her blue eyes clear windows to her care and understanding.

"Thanks." The former mayor lifted her head regally and smiled at the girl's complement.

The two brunette's found Ruby and Emma outside sitting on a sidewalk bench. Emma had her head hung down being held by the palms of her hands. Regina instinctively touched the woman's forehead. "You're a little warm honey."

"Whatever is in that vault needs to stay the hell away from me." She groaned. Regina stroked the girl's blonde locks. "Is it getting better at least?" Emma nodded her head.

"Good, at least we know it isn't this," She pulled out the cone shaped prize they came there for that day. "that's making you ill."

"How does it work?" Ruby asked, her wide green eyes looking at the device with reverence.

"From what I've read, like a magic bean. You work the spell over a mirrored plane, think of the destination and voila! The mirror turns into a portal, you can step through the mirror as if it were a door." Regina explained to the young wolf. "We should probably test it." She thought to herself aloud.

"I'm going with you." Emma said and stood.

"Sit down, I didn't mean right this second. Who knows where the portal will drop us off, we need supplies and someone to watch our son, and—" Regina started listing off all the reasons why they couldn't test the portal when Emma cut in, "AND when you go, I'm going with you." She pulled her fiancée into her arms. "I'm the queen's guard, her white knight, I go where she goes."

Regina mock rolled her eyes hiding the fact that she simply adored Emma's chivalrous side from their two comrades. Ruby piped in, "I'll watch Henry." Belle saddled up to the tall brunette, "I'll help." She said as she hooked her arm through the taller woman's elbow. Emma shrugged. "There ya go! We can take a couple days and find a good place to store the return portal." She shimmied the brunette within her arms, "Come on it'll be fun."

"Alright, but I hate being unprepared, we pack weapons and food and"

"And the kitchen sink, I get it." Emma cut her off. She pulled the woman close and whispered into her ear so the other two couldn't hear her, "It'll be like a little vacation, just the two of us…" she felt the short little brunette's body heat spike at the thought and smiled to herself. "Cool." Emma said confirming Regina's unspoken agreement on the plan. "We'll pack up tonight and test the cool funnel thingie tomorrow. Rubes pick up the kid tomorrow after school? You guys can stay at our place."

Later that night Emma was standing in the middle of several piles of clothes, several pairs of shoes, jackets, blankets, pillows, packages of dried foods, open bags, weapons of a variety of arts, flashlights, several lighters, a case of bottled water and her girlfriend sitting in the center of it all, checking over the list she made.

"Are we really going to need all this stuff?" she picked up one of their pillows and fluffed it before tucking it under herself and sitting down next to her queen. She plucked the list from Regina's grasp when the woman didn't respond. "Hey!" the brunette cried out.

"We need hiking attire," she wrote on the other side of the paper. "Each."

"We need each a pair of hiking boots." She picked up one of the queen's heeled boots and tossed it towards the kitchen.

"We need two bed rolls, or one sleeping bag…" She wagged her eyebrows at the scowling brunette.

"Two large bottles for water that we can refill on route." She added plastic bottles to her list and shoved the case of water out of the way. "The dried food is a good idea, we need more jerky than, what is this?" she held up the mystery dried fruit. Before the queen could answer she tossed it aside, "Whatever that was. Trail mix would be good for between meals. Mary Margaret taught me how to catch small game so as long as we have stuff for in between we should be okay."

She looked around at the rest of the stuff, "We don't need flashlights because we won't be traveling at night, we don't need lighters because we are bringing you, little miss fireball. Seriously? A tent?" she looked at Regina who was sneering back at her.

"I'm a queen!" she huffed in her defense.

Emma rolled her eyes, "Yes well your majesty is going to be roughing it for a few days. I'll allow two wardrobe changes babe, but you don't need what?" she quickly flicked through her girlfriends proposed attire, "SIX outfits!?"

Regina folded her arms around her midsection, "Fine, but I'm bringing my pillow!"

"Or…. You can just use me your Majesty." She pulled the pouting woman over to her and nestled her between her legs, resting her head against the savior's chest. The woman sighed loudly, "That could work I suppose." After a moment Emma went back to the list.

"A bow, two swords, a hunting knife and a dagger each." Emma picked through the woman's choice of weaponry. "Why…" she held up the suspicious item in question, "Why would we need nun chucks?"

"Oh they were just mixed in with the arsenal, I didn't…" the brunette started, but the pink flush of the woman's cheeks as her dark eyes met the large green staring back at her, gave her away. "Fine. YOU pack. I'm going to go check on our son." The queen stood up and stomped off in a huff, the blonde savior giggling in her wake. "We can 'rough it' in my castle!" she called over her shoulder.

Henry was sitting on his bed when his mother knocked on his door. She waited patiently behind the closed door for her son to give her permission to enter and once he did she slowly opened the door and poked her head inside. "Your mother has hijacked my packing duties so I was wondering if you wanted to play a game or something with me?" He shrugged his shoulders aloof. "What is wrong darling?" she asked and entered the room. "This will be Mom's second time in the Enchanted forest, and…"

"You want to go." His mother finished. He nodded as she sat down on the bed putting her hand on his knee. "We are uncertain of the dangers there Henry."

"I know." He said sadly.

"This trip is about setting up a return portal so people can come and go. That includes us. How about when we take the first trip of towns folk back, you, Emma and I go and stay on for a week?"

"Really?" his little boy voice cracked with his excitement. His cheeks instantly turned bright red. Regina paid it no mind and just patted the boy on his head. "Of course dear, we can go camping, or I can show you our castle, or whatever you want to see."

"That would be really cool Mom." He said in a deep steady voice trying not to inflect his speech and crack his voice.

"Then it will be done my prince." She smiled at him, her eyes shown the love in her heart for her boy, and the sadness of him growing up far too quickly.

"Want to play checkers?" he asked with a smile. She nodded and stood from the bed, leading him out of the room.

Emma attended the open door council meeting her father called to discuss the findings of his investigation. When he presented that the accusations were unfounded, some of the townsfolk were very vocal. There was however, no direct evidence that implicated Mary Margaret. When the darkness was removed, so went what compelled the woman to do the things she did. David had decided the guilty party had already paid the price. He convinced himself it couldn't have been his dutiful wife, it was the darkness to blame. Emma didn't exactly agree with his assessment, but also knew that if they did disclose, they would need to use the darkness as a defense to keep her mother out of jail, at least. It would be dangerous if someone found out Snow's darkness is out there. So they didn't disclose who the perpetrator was by name. They did however, clear the former mayor of all charges.

"Friends." David cleared his throat and addressed the town. "I think, and many of you will agree, Regina has done a fine job keeping this town operational; in the short time she has been gone," He looked around at the council members, "Things have seriously taken a turn for the worse." He paused for dramatic effect. "I propose asking the Queen to resume her position as soon as possible"

"I call for an official election!" One of the nuns called out.

"If anyone wishes to run against her, we can hold a proper election in the fall. If she is willing to come back," he looked at Emma knowingly,

The crowd broke out in agreeable murmurs and Emma noted several people were nodding their heads at the proposal. "Next year?" the outrage coming from the nun who had called for the election was clear.

"That is ample time to run a campaign for anyone who decides they think they can do it better than the woman who has kept us all well taken care of for the last 30 years. We may have been cursed, but the infrastructure of Storybrooke has been meticulously maintained." David answered.

"I for one applaud Mayor Mills for the job she has done," Dr. Hopper stood and voiced his opinion. "As someone who has tried to fill her shoes, believe me when I tell you, those heels are hard to fill!"

Granny stood and also voiced her opinion, "I second Mayor Mills return to office, our Savior trusts her, that is good enough for me!"

Grumpy also stood, "I third her return! She has gone out of her way to help keep us safe from people who would do us harm," He looked over at the nun who was speaking out for the election, "Even from each other!" he spat. The other 11 dwarves started shouting at the nuns who were now shouting back at them. David rapped the gavel on the table and called for order.

He looked over at his daughter and smiled sheepishly, "Sheriff? Is Regina willing to come back?" Every eye in the place focused in on her for that moment. "I won't speak for her, but I can certainly ask." She said in a noncommittal way. The truth was they had already talked about it, and the Mayor was willing to come back, but Emma was still pissed about what had happened to her fiancée and the home they shared and wanted to make the townsfolk twist a little. David bowed his head and accepted her answer. "Please do, Sheriff. Anything the council can do to persuade Mayor Mills, please let us know." He added a touch of desperation to his voice to add to the theatrics of his daughter's answer. It wouldn't hurt the town to know things were as bad as they actually were, and they needed the Mayor back in office.

"There is one thing," Emma said cautiously, "There is a plot of land that was owned by the Dark One, that is currently not being used, and no one has ownership of it currently. Since the Mayor's home was demolished," she looks around the room accusatorily, "I think it would go a long way to convince Regina of the towns gratitude for her loyalty to us all. However, I'll still need to speak with her and ask if she is even interested in coming back."

The crowd broke out in waves of "Here Here's" and supportive applause. David smacked the gavel again and nodded his agreement to his daughter. "I think that can be arranged. It is the least we can do. All we ask is you do your best to convey the towns sincerest apologies and desperate need of her expertise." Emma smiled knowingly at her father as he turned his attention back to the crowd moving the meeting forward. They had several other items on the agenda and he was anxious to get out of there. He hated filling in for Regina and wanted the mayor to come back yesterday.

"The last item of business is the portal home effort." He looked back over at his daughter who was happily ignoring the meeting and typing on her phone. David cleared his throat attempting to get his daughter's attention.

"Sheriff?" he said gently.

"Yeah?" she snapped out of whatever she was doing and focused back on the meeting, the room was looking at her expectantly.

"The portal initiative?" David repeated.

"Right! Uh, well as you all know, with assistance of the Sheriff's office, Belle, Ruby and Mayor Mills have been combing through and cataloging the Dark One's magic, locking up anything too dangerous under Belle's watchful eye. Regina has been instrumental in deciphering Gold's traps and fail safe triggers." She added unabashedly talking up her fiancée to the crowd. "With her help, we have made great strides to finding a magical item that can not only open a portal back to the Enchanted Forest, but we have also put together a plan to set up regularly scheduled trips back and forth between the realms, so people who wish to stay in Storybrooke can also visit loved ones who wish to reside back home."

"What about the Ogres? How will you stop them from using the portal to come here?" someone shouted from the back of the room.

"Or trolls?" someone else shouted.

"Or DRAGONS?" yet another added.

"We have taken every precaution," the Sheriff assured, "The location of the portals will be in a place that cannot be reached by normal means of transportation. No one but Regina and Myself will even know of its location in the Enchanted forest." She looked around the room to make sure the town folk were settling their fears then continued. "One of us will take a group from Storybrooke through the portal and transport them once on the other side to a predetermined travel location where those travelers can then make their way to wherever they please. Anyone from the Enchanted Forest who wishes to come back will be waiting at the travel location at the appointed time and will be taken back through the portal. We concluded a schedule of once a month would be a good place to start. Until we see what kind of traffic we get, we may add more dates, or lessen the frequency." She shrugged her shoulders then added. "Each of us can transport roughly 10 persons at one time safely, but as you all know, magic comes with a price and that price limits how often we can open the portal, it takes quite a bit of magic and requires both Regina and myself to open. We are also limited by how many people we can, uh, whoosh, at a time. So. Yeah. There's that."

David smiled proudly at his daughter, the setup and operation of the portal system was brilliantly laid out, carefully planned and took into consideration of the dangers posed of having an open portal between worlds. "Of course Sheriff. That is great news indeed!"

"I'll need to discuss security with the council in private of course, and discuss testing of the portals viability after we adjourn here." Emma added directly to her father.

He turned his attention back to the crowd who broke out in thunderous applause. "A signup sheet and travel schedule will be posted down at the library starting next week, we will work on a first come first serve basis." He said loudly over the crowd. "Now if that will be all, I hereby call this meeting to a close." He banged the gavel after a moment, making sure no one else had anything needing attention, and the galley got up and filed out of the hall.

He walked over to his daughter and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for your help with the portal sweetheart." He said as he held her.

"I'm the savior dad, it is in the job description." She chuckled at herself. "Really though, it was Regina and Belle. I'm just the cute face they put on the box."

"Cutest face ever!" he laughed, "Come down to Regina's office I'll let you grab the deed for the plot, and talk about your security issues." He said.

They walked down to her fiancée's office and closed the door. Emma's face flushed a light pink as she remembered her queen flustered and pantyless leaning over that desk. "So uh," she cleared her throat, and her mind, and continued. "Regina and I are going to test the portal, later today actually. We are going to go through check it out, and secure the return pad. We can get people moving asap. It may take a few days to find a suitable location, but Rubes is going to stay with Henry. So we should be good."

Her father looked pained, "You don't want your mother and I to watch him while you are away?" Emma's eyes looked apologetic, "It's not that I don't trust you guys, Ruby offered and we, well I, decided that Henry has been through quite a bit between Pan and then this, that maybe some time spent with Archie might be a good idea. Before we all you know, be Charmings, again." She twisted her fingers together nervously, she didn't want to hurt her father's feelings but she was also really upset about what had happened with her kid lately and didn't want to push it.

David's face relaxed as acceptance took the place of worry and pain. "I get it Emma. You guys need time."

"Exactly." She agreed.

"Do you need anything for the trip? Have you got enough—"

"Swords?" she smiled her crooked little half smile she inherited from her father.

"Arrows?" He countered with. "I hear the queen is handy with a bow."

"Seriously?" Emma looked shocked remembering the woman from the previous night trying to pack silk for hiking through overgrown forest.

"That's what your mother says." He chuckled.

"Well this I'll have to see." She said shaking her head in disbelief.

"Do you have any idea where Regina keeps the land plot deeds?" he looked around the office and waved his hands

"No, but it doesn't have to be today, David. She said she'd come back, I just want people to appreciate what she does for them. I want them to think maybe they went too far this time. She is a person, not just some symbol of power or evil. It ticks me off." She said. He looked at her and nodded his head. "I certainly appreciate what she does." He looked around the place. "She does all this way better than I can." He admitted.

"She also looks better in the heels." Emma added with a chuckle.

"Oh I don't know; I've got the legs for it!" he winked.

"Alright, If we are not back in 7 days, well I'd say we won't be back, but knowing Regina, she'll punch a hole through the fabric of time and space to get back to our kid, so. We'll be back eventually, but the official plan is 2 or 3, 4 days max." she looked out the window and saw flurries falling from the sky and sighed. "Oh boy, camping in winter." She said sarcastically, but truth be told she was looking forward to some serious alone time with her woman.

"Layers Emma. Oh, pack extra socks for you both. Trust me, keep your feet dry, you'll thank me." He said trying to pass on some wisdom to his adult daughter.

"Thanks." She hugged him and kissed his cheek and they parted ways. She had said her goodbyes to her mother that morning so she was heading back to the apartment to collect her fiancée and head out.

David watched his daughter leave and felt proud of her. He may not have raised her, but he could see himself and his wife in her mannerisms, her fierce loyalty, her compassion and self-sacrifice. She was the perfect blend of himself and his wife. He couldn't be happier about the woman she grew up to be.


	22. Chapter 22

Emma came home to find her girlfriend standing in their son's room. "I feel like I just got him back and we are leaving him again." The queen sniffled and leaned her head against her lover's strong shoulder. "A couple days babe and we'll be right back. Besides he'll have fun with Rubes n Belle." Emma wrapped her arms around her soon to be wife and kissed her newly exposed neck.

"I know, I know. Okay, let's go." The queen said abruptly, and detangled herself from her knight. They went back out into the front room of their apartment. They had already said their goodbyes to the boy that morning and although she was going to miss their son terribly, she was looking forward to some alone time with the savior.

While Regina was messing about with the large mirror they chose to use as a portal, Emma ran back into their bedroom and grabbed 2 pairs of cotton socks, taking the advice of her father. _Who knows what they'll be up against?_ She came back and stuffed the extra socks into one of the two back packs and pulled the other one onto her shoulders. It wasn't anywhere near as large as the bags the queen had taken out to fill, everything they required fit into two medium sized manageable packs. Emma's was heavier as it had the food, rope and other supplies and Regina had the clothes, both packs had a modern sleeping bag secured to the bottom. "Alright, I think we are set babe." Emma smirked and gave the queen her jacket, her backpack and a bow.

"What the hell am I going to do with this?" Regina looked at the wooden bow as if it were made of snakes. "Rumor has it you're a damn good shot." Emma smirked.

"Forty years ago maybe…" the queen scoffed and Emma wrinkled her nose at the reminder of her true love's actual age. "Stop trying to do the math dear, you'll hurt yourself."

"Okay well, carry it, your majesty." Regina reached out her hand and took the wooden bow from her knight. Emma didn't let go of the bow and looked down at the woman's finger. "Should we leave that home? You know, for safe keeping?"

"I don't want to, no, but if you think we should, I will." Regina looked at her ring sadly.

"There are people who were left behind." Emma said thinking of thieves.

"They'll be more concerned with the fact I'm the Evil Queen than what kind of jewelry I'm wearing." Regina huffed, "Fine alright. In protest." She pouted and went to remove the ring.

"Wait." Emma said and put the bow down. She lifted her queen's left hand and kissed it gently. She slipped the ring from the woman's finger and kissed where it had just been. "I put this on, I am the only one who can take it off." She kissed the soft hand once more. "Mine."

Regina collapsed into Emma's arms. "Gods I love you." She kissed the blonde hard on the mouth.

"You almost have to, you're mine." Emma countered and smiled as she let go of the woman and ran back to the back bedroom once more to put her fiancée's ring with the other two in a black bag under their mattress. She then returned to the queen who had started the spell that opened the portal. Emma touched Regina on the arm and focused her own magic to flow through the woman holding the device. The mirror shimmered with magic and Regina stowed the aperture device in her inner jacket pocket. The brunette started to walk towards the opened portal when Emma held her arm up. She handed her the bow and removed her sword from its scabbard over her shoulder. Emma pushed the tip of her sword through the glass then grabbed the queen's hand and stepped through.

The room they walked into was dark and damp and smelled of moss and earth. Regina lit a small ball of flame in her palm to illuminate the room they were in. Cool blackened stone lined the walls of the room, at the end of which there was a wooden door. It was also blackened with age, and the hinges were rusted into place from non-use. "Well at least we know there's no one else here." Emma said tugging on the door handle trying to open it.

Regina used her magic to restore the metal to its previous condition and swept her hand forward for the blonde to try once more. The door swung open with ease. The women peered out into the dark hall and Regina hummed, "Wish you'd packed the Mag Lights."

"I thought we would be out in the woods or something!" Emma defended herself in a whisper as they huddled together in the low light of the fireball.

"All the more reason!" the queen shot back. "And whatever would make you think that? You realize we needed to step through a mirror on THIS side, what would a mirror be doing in the middle of the forest?"

"Clearly I didn't think it though!" the blonde bickered back in a whisper.

Emma circled her hands together and every time she spun them around a new small white orb floated out and above them, after about 6 or so she spun her finger around and they huddled together in a ring above their heads illuminating the way around them brightly. Regina extinguished her fireball and huffed. "Least my fireball was keeping us warm."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Do you know where we are?"

"A hallway." Regina said dryly as they continued to walk. The furniture and tapestries were succumbing to age and the place smelled like it had been closed up for the duration of the curse.

"Ok let's find our way out of here and get our, well your, bearings." Emma suggested. She sheathed her sword and took her queens hand. "We'll need to take the mirror we came out of. It is linked with the one back home. It'll be the one we use to get between here and there." Regina said.

"It is friggen huge!" Emma complained.

Regina shrugged, "We can always come back for it I guess."

Emma huffed. "No let's take the stupid thing now." She returned to the room and rolled her eyes at the size of it, dreading the weight.

"Just until we get somewhere where I know where we are, I can whoosh us to the Dark Castle." Regina said.

Emma chuckled. "You just said, Whoosh." Regina mock scowled at her.

They reached the end of the hall and Emma felt that thick oily feeling that she associated with dark magic and she froze mid step setting the mirror down against the wall. "Do you feel that?"

"Oh yeah." Regina nodded her head. "I think I know exactly where we are. If I'm right, we need to get out of here."

"Where do you think we are?"

"Maleficent's castle." Regina said. "If I'm right, who knows what traps are around this place. Just before I cast the curse she was a paranoid recluse. Having won victory over her nemesis it drove her mad; she hadn't had the satisfaction she yearned for." Regina rolled her eyes as Emma poignantly tilted her head and stared. "Maybe paranoid isn't the right term, I was trying to kill her."

"I thought you thought she was attractive and you know…" Emma complained.

"I thought you were attractive; I still tried to poison you with an apple turnover." Regina said pragmatically.

"You thought I was attractive?" Emma asked honestly surprised.

"I have eyes." Regina said quoting her white knight. "They do work." They continued on through the door into a new hallway.

"Damn." She said pointing to a tattered painting of a beautiful blonde woman standing in a black head dress, a tight fitting dark dress, very low cut. Her face stoic and steel blue eyes haunting; even in the faded painting she was regal and magnificent.

"Is that?" Emma looked at the woman she had only ever seen in dragon form.

"That's her." Regina said as she worried her lip. She didn't want to use too much their magic within the walls of this place, it could backfire terribly, knowing her former friend, but she also didn't want to go opening up doors or traipse around without knowing what was around them. She looked around trying to remember the witch's castle layout. It wasn't much use they were in a singular hallway with three doors. The one they just came through, the one that was in the center of the hallway and the one at the end of the hallway. It could literally be any number of hallways within the castle.

"She is seriously hot!" Emma exclaimed peering at the painting closer. "You seriously didn't hit that?" she turned away from the painting and looked at her fiancée who was deadpanning her response with her eyes.

Emma smirked as she saw an opportunity to poke fun, "So you like blondes?"

"No, but they seem to like me." Regina said straight-faced, she pursed her lips together and walked away from the stunned savior.

Emma lifted the mirror under her arm and hurried after her queen who was walking towards the door at the end of the hall. The light orbs were going with her. "Hey wait up!" she called a little more panicky than she had intended.

"I'm not going to leave Emma." Regina said in response to the woman's sudden influx in tone.

"I know. I'm just, you know." She laced her fingers together in the brunettes hand. "Not overly fond of the dark." Regina turned to her with a questioning look.

"Well not in scary wicked witch castles!" Emma defended herself. "Let's just get out of this place it is creeping me out. The dark magic is starting to get to me."

Regina noticed the thin sheen of sweat on her lover's pale face, even in the cool damp castle. "Did you ever get like this in my crypt back home?" Regina asked as they wandered through the dark castle.

"Get like what?" Emma asked.

"Your sensitivity to dark magic." Regina clarified.

"Maybe, I don't really remember the last time I was there I hadn't gone down into it, I was just outside. That was before the curse broke." She reminded the queen, without bringing up the man they had been fighting over that night. "Why?"

"I just don't remember you being so sensitive to it on the island in Neverland. That whole island pulsed with dark magic." Regina commented. "I'm just wondering if learning what I've been teaching you is affecting you negatively. That's all darling."

"I didn't feel it on the island, at all come to think of it. Maybe I was too focused on what we were doing to pay it any mind?" Emma offered then added, "I like learning magic, I wouldn't be happy if we had to stop my lessons."

"You like learning magic?" Regina asked casually.

"Yeah!" Emma said like that was the dumbest thing she had ever heard. "Especially from you. You're such a good teacher Regina." She added honestly. Regina scoffed at the girl's assessment.

"Oh the teacher/student fantasies I could share with you…" Emma continued teasingly.

"If it is anything like your Sheriff/Mayor fantasies, we'll need to definitely have THAT discussion!" Regina drawled in earnest interest.

They got to yet another door and Regina carefully pushed her magic out into the air around it, sensing no danger she continued on through. The door opened up into a large room. Small slits of windows lined the tops of the tall walls allowing the natural sunlight of the day to illuminate the room. Emma pulled in the orbs and looked around the grand room in awe of its sheer size. There was a ridiculously long wooden dining table, a half dozen black metal chandeliers hung above, running the length of it, the candles still sitting partially melted within.

"Wow." Emma's voice echoed off the perfectly acoustic walls.

"Yes well, let's get out of here." Regina felt the need to leave this place more urgently than she had before. This was the room she took the fated dark curse back from the blonde witch. Being there was making the memories of that time painfully clear in her mind's eye. She tugged the blonde behind her as she quickened her pace towards the door. Emma having to trot to keep up.

Regina pushed open the large wooden doors that led to the outside world, the light of the sun blinded the women for just a moment before their eyes accustomed to the daylight. Emma cursed as she saw what lay before them. Between the castle and the rest of the known world was a rickety wooden bridge. "Seriously?" the blonde exclaimed.

"Relax, I can whoosh us. I know where we are, I know where we are going. Just hang on." Emma wrapped her free arm around her queens waist and pulled her into a strong embrace. Emma whispered into the brunette's ear before they transported, "I love it when you say whoosh." They disappeared in a cloud of deep purple smoke, mirror and all.

They reappeared amongst several large pine trees in what looked like the center of the forest. Emma looked around worriedly.

"My castle should be over that ridge over there." The brunette pointed to a slight incline in the forest floor.

"After you, your majesty." Emma bowed.

They made their way out of the woods, Emma lugging the mirror from Mal's castle, following her queen towards a shining black spectacle set into a mountain rage. The sun glared off of the black marble, the pointed shards reaching towards the heavens, the grandeur of it was breathtaking. The closer they got the more magnificent it became to Emma. They got to the gates and Regina put up her hand to take down the barrier keeping the curse and the elements out.

Once they entered the security gate Regina re-applied the

barrier, adding also a proximity alarm for bipedal humanoid beings. She would know if anyone came within 100 meters of the gates.

They stepped inside her castle, using her magic to light the torches that lined the walls and the candle chandeliers to light the halls and rooms of the place; All the fireplaces sparked to life, it was as if she never left. She looked at her love who was looking around wide eyed and mouth agape. The blonde set the mirror down next to the front door and walked over to where Regina was standing in the grand foyer. It was not unlike the mansion, but on a much larger scale. The circular twin staircases lined the room they stood in, everything was a sparkling black marble, polished to a mirror finish. It was grand, _'and suited a queen.'_ Emma thought.

"I can't imagine anyone living here. Like this was your home!" Emma exclaimed as she looked around. The long floor to ceiling tapestries were in pristine condition, the artwork on the walls was reminiscent of Matthias Grunewald. Disturbing imagery of demons and religious depictions. Most were bold and bleak, the works looked like they could have been taken from Earth's middle ages era. Emma walked deeper into the castle until she realized Regina wasn't following her. She turned around and came back into the foyer. Her queen was standing frozen in place. The look of dread within the brunette's dark features was stark. Emma walked up to her queen and removed each of their back packs laying them on the floor at their feet.

"This was my castle, it was never my home." She whispered quietly.

"Hey, we don't have to stay here." Emma said hooking her finger under the chin of her queen, lifting it to pull her dark eyes up to meet the savior's green.

"I know. It is much cooler than I remember it being for this time of year." The brunette said softly. "We'll be out in the elements soon enough."

"Hey, wanna take me to your bedchamber your majesty?" Emma waggled her eyebrows suggestively, breaking the queen from her morose mood. The queen's eyes darkened with desire and she nodded her head. Emma wrapped her arms around the small frame of her love and hooked her arm under her knees, lifting her up, cradling her in her powerful arms. With a flamboyant wave of the queen's hand they transported into the queen's bedroom. Before the purple smoke could even clear Emma leaned in and took possession of the brunette's plump lips.

Regina pushed into the kiss with desperate need. Being back in this world had shaken her, much more than she had ever imagined it would. Memories of her past life, the woman she was, was tangible here. She couldn't push it aside as she had in Storybrooke, that empty lonely girl, that girl who was twisted and broken by the very darkness that propelled her forward. She was all too real.

The savior set her queen down on the edge of the bed and bent down to remove her boots. "Let's make new memories my love." Her green eyes looked up from under her long dark eyelashes, a knowing glance spoke of understanding to the brunette.

"I love you." The queen whispered.

"I love you Regina." Emma answered, knowing at that moment the brunette needed to feel like the woman she is, not the woman she once was. She tangled her fingers into the soft brown strands of the woman's hair and sunk into a passionate kiss. The blonde pushed into her lover toppling them back on the large futon style bed. Emma's hands searched over her queen trying to find a way to touch skin. She finally gave up the futile attempt and broke their lip lock. "You have too many clothes on." She said, huffing in frustration.

Regina snapped her fingers and both women are instantly devoid of their clothing, "Now, where were we?" a lusty growl rumbles within her chest causing the blonde's core to ache with need. "I am the luckiest woman in all the realms." Emma said, absently giving voice to her innermost thoughts.

Regina smiled seductively and her hands cupped the blonde's hard jawline. "I believe I already hold that title Savoir."

"I may have to fight you for it." Emma said wickedly. Regina rolled the blonde over and straddled her hips and held the savior's arms above her head. Her excitedly hard nipples inches from the blonde's wanting mouth. "Alright, but I fight to win." The brunette teased. She lowered herself until her hard nipple was touching the blonde's moist lip. She traced it around her lips seeking an opening.

The savior poked the tip of her tongue out and grazed the flat tip of Regina's nipple causing the woman to jump in surprise then lean into her wet temptation. Emma closed her mouth around the offered breast and Regina let out a deep groan as the sensation spiked through her body directly to her core. She rubbed herself against the savior's hard stomach muscles trying to satisfy the yearning that had been set ablaze.

"Let me go and I'll take care of that little flood problem you're having my love." Emma said into the womans breast. Regina rolled her hips and pushed her excited throbbing bundle into the saviors six pack. She sat up, letting go of the savior who donned a triumphant grin, but before the blonde could put her hands on the queen, Regina twirled her fingers in the air and the blonde was tied down snugly to the bed; arms and legs, stretched out tight.

"Regina!" the savior yelped, surprised.

Regina bent down and kissed the blonde on her lips, "Fret not sweet savior for you are safe."

"I know." Emma said, still looking a touch worried. "I just like touching you is all." She wiggled her fingers to highlight the problem she was having.

Regina hummed a low growl and dismounted the blonde taking up a spot to her side. She dragged her nails from the blonde's thigh, across her midsection, over her breast to her shoulder, leaving four angry claw marks on the savior's pale skin. Emma hissed as the woman's nails dug into her flesh, her body cowering away from the light sting, but her core pulsed at the sensation and she spread open her thighs automatically. Regina sat back and looked over her handy work with a satisfied smirk. She ran her fingertips up over the warm lines she just made, making a detour as she reached the blonde's chest to cover one of her hard peaks with the palm of her hand. She rolled the stiff nub under the flat of her palm before firmly grabbing at the thick pliant flesh, filling her entire hand, digging her nails into the circumference. She bent down and took a mouthful of the savior's breast in, sucking and biting at the flesh until it darkened with bruise. She dropped the skin with a pop and flicked her black eyes up to meet the lusty green ones watching her every move, "Mine." The blonde head nodded in energetic agreement with her assessment.

Regina's movements were that of a cat, slow, sensual and deliberate, her body hovering over the savior's pale skin, never giving into the blonde's craving for touch. Regina only touched her love when and where she herself desired. "Regina you are driving me crazy!" Emma panted out after the woman had dipped her fingers into the wet sex of the savior and spread her juices over her own lips.

"I know." Came the response in a low husky tone, the smirk that accompanied it was in a word, wicked. Regina straddled the savior's hips once again, not sitting on the blonde, just allowing her to feel the heat radiating off of her own core, gently warming the blonde's skin. She placed her palms on either side of Emma's blonde head and dragged her tongue up her chin, kissing her way up her jawline until she reached the blonde's earlobe. The tip of her wet tongue caressed the underside of the lobe in such a way it made Emma's entire body convulse with shivers. "I'm going to tease you, until you can't stand it anymore, I'm going to deny you release time and time again and then, Emma…" she kissed the bell of the ear her hot breath had just been warming, pausing for dramatic effect. "I'm going to release you from your bondage, and when I do, you have permission to do whatever you want to me. Your reward from your Queen for being a good girl." Emma gulped at the prospect of suffering through what her queen had in store for her, however the payoff for holding on would be well worth it. She knew exactly what she wanted to do to her queen this evening.

Emma nodded her head in agreement and the queen laughed. "I wasn't asking your permission dear. I was simply stating what was coming to pass. Now. Open your pretty mouth Savior and service your Queen." Emma's eyes grew large as Regina proceeded to move up and straddle her head, lowering her wet center down to Emma's waiting lips. Emma plunged her tongue into her queen's tight slickness causing the woman above her to groan with satisfaction. Regina bucked and rolled her hips gently as Emma slid her skillful tongue up and around her sex, sucking and licking the woman clean. Every so often Emma would forget her hands were of no use and she would strain against her bindings futilely. Regina quickly came to her first orgasm, her fingers dug into the saviors biceps leaving little half-moon marks all over her.

The brunette withdrew herself after her climax and placed her mouth where her sex had just been, dutifully licking up her own juices that had trickled down the saviors chin. As she did she slid two of her fingers down, parting the dark blonde curls causing the savior to gasp out in pleasure. Regina took care to not focus on the woman's throbbing nub, but simply graze it from time to time drawing the blonde closer and closer to her edge. Once the savior's dimpled chin was clean she lifted the fingers she had just been using to tease the woman bound below her. "You have sullied your Queen, bad girl." She brought her hand to the savior's mouth who took them in without hesitation, humming as the sweet taste of her own juices mixed with the taste of her queen. As Regina allowed the blonde to clean her mess from her hand, she used her free hand to explore Emma's heaving chest. She twisted the girl's nipple hard, pulling a groan out of her that sounded like a wounded animal. "Fuck!" Emma exclaimed in a mix of pain and pleasure. She was gasping hard as Regina scooped up her abused nipple into her warm soothing mouth.

"Oh babe if you keep doing that I'm going to come so hard…" Emma whispered breathlessly, not wanting the woman to stop but knowing the payoff for holding her pleasure in check would be well worth the aching pain between her legs.

"You will do no such thing Miss Swan!" her queen's voice demanded then softened to a cool steady sweet, "You want to please your queen don't you savior?" Her hand slid up the savior's inner thigh, satisfied when she met with Emma's unbridled desire that covered them. She plunged two fingers into Emma who cried out in surprise. Her inner walls clamped down on the intrusion and Regina met with strong resistance to her thrusting. Emma's body flushed in its entirety a rose pink as her heart pounded hard in her chest. "Don't you?" Regina asked again as she thrusted hard into her lover's wet pussy. Emma snapped open her eyes to meet Regina's and nodded her head. She pooled her control and steeled her resolve vowing to herself that she would hold on. Her hips met with each thrust and the slow build she felt suddenly dropped as Regina took her hand away. A frustrated whine met suddenly with a surprised groan as Regina parted Emma's sex and licked up her desire.

"Nooo no no no! That's not fair!" Emma protested. Regina hummed her pleasure into the hot mass of the girl's sex. She brought Emma to the brink of her known limit and was happy when the blonde held onto her control, just to please her queen. Regina waved her free hand and removed the bindings that had held the girl immobile, reaching her hands up under the girl's thighs pulling them open, "Come for your Queen, Savior." She commanded then buried her face deep within the savior's pussy. Emma gyrated against Regina's mouth enjoying the climb back up to her release, knowing this time it will be provided. Regina replaced her hand into the woman's throbbing cunt eliciting moans of pleasure from the girl. Emma crested her pleasure, her voice echoing within the large stone room as she howled out her climax.

After Emma's breathing had gotten back under control she pulled Regina up into her arms, her hands exploring the woman, feeling the strength of her muscles, grabbing and squeezing at her. Emma rolled them over and pulled back to look at her amazing woman. With a wicked smile of her own, Emma backed off the bed. "Where are you going?" Regina asked confused and a little annoyed sitting up on her elbows to watch the blonde cross the room. "You said anything." Emma grinned widely. A sudden worried look crossed the queen's face. "I did." Regina agreed and relaxed against the pillows of the bed.

Night had fallen the Enchanted Forest some time ago and the room they were in was only illuminated by the fireplace. Emma was walking further away from the light source and Regina could barely see her lithe pale frame against the blackness of the corners of the room. Emma walked into the Evil Queen's closet and lit a single blue white orb to illuminate the immediate area. She looked through the lavish attire, smirking at the image of what the brunette had looked like in some of these costumes. She found the corset she knew was in there, because _of course_ the woman had one. She went back into the bedroom carrying her prize, she magically transported their backpacks that were still down at the entrance of the castle up to the room. She opened Regina's bag and dug through to the bottom and pulled out the pair of black thong panties she had specifically packed for the trip. She snapped her fingers and both undergarments had magically adorned the brunette on the bed. Regina let out a gasp in surprise behind her.

She then opened her own backpack and took out the rig she brought, hoping for a chance to use it. She slipped on the leather gear and took out a small thin dildo she had purchased some time ago, never having the opportunity to use it on her queen. She slipped it securely into one of the straps around her hip, out of sight. She then unwrapped the sleeping bags they'd brought and unrolled them on the stone floor in front of the fireplace.

Emma walked back to her love that lay sprawled out on the bed looking the picture of sexiness. She held out her hand for the queen to help her off the bed. She led Regina over to the fire and stood before her a moment before silently running her fingers into the woman's chocolate locks. She pressed her nose against her lovers hairline and kissed her forehead gently. She breathed in the familiar scent of her love letting it calm her. She pulled back and admired the sexy woman before her. The corset was a thing of perfection, the rigid line of the bone flowed flawlessly over Regina's torso. It was quite snug and she could see that Regina was struggling slightly with the new limitation on her breathing. However it also squeezed her tits tightly, pressing them up high, bulging them out of the top. She turned her queen to the side to admire the woman's perfect prominent ass. She gave a cheek a hard slap. "Oh yes, this will do just fine." Emma drawled with a crooked half smile that caused the woman before her to shudder with anticipation. She hooked her finger under the woman's chin to get her attention, meeting her gaze she spoke clearly, "If you feel uncomfortable or want me to stop say the words, Mozza Burger."

"Why can't I just say No or Stop?" Regina asked confused.

Emma pulled the woman in close, "I'm hoping you will say both of those things to me Madam Mayor," She said with heated desire. "But if you truly want me to stop, you'll say Mozza Burger." Regina looked up into Emma's dark green eyes and nodded her understanding. "However if I say no or stop, you will obey me instantly."

"On your knees." Emma commanded coolly. Regina obeyed her knight with haste, dropping down to her knees resting back on her heels. Emma unsnapped the leather cover piece from the front of her rig, exposing herself.

Her white knight pushed her fingers through her soft brown hair, craning her head back, "Good girl." She praised as she looked down at her obedient love. Her hand dragged itself around to her jawline and traced its way to her chin. She pushed her thumb into Regina's warm mouth, scraping the pad of her fingertip over her bottom teeth roughly to only be soothed immediately by the woman's soft wet tongue. Regina instantly began to suck her knight's appendage dutifully as Emma pushed and pulled her finger in and out of Regina's mouth. The savior's eyes clouded over with need and then she instructed her queen, "I want you to take me into that beautiful mouth of yours and suck me off." Regina nodded understanding exactly what her white knight wanted. "Stop immediately when I say stop, do you understand?" Regina nodded once more looking her knight right in the eye.

Regina slid her fingers up her lovers mound, the slick moist desire that had been collecting within the folds of her knight's sex covered Regina's hand. Emma stepped closer to the woman who was kneeling before her, her hand gently guiding the back of her head pulling her mouth where she needed it to be. Regina flattened her tongue and slid up the length of her knight's slit. Emma trembled with need and tilted her hips forward so her love could gain sufficient access. Regina wrapped her plump lips around Emma's throbbing nerve bundle and sucked her into her mouth. The savior's knees went weak as she felt the entirety of her sex get pulled into her lover's moist mouth. She looked down at the woman on her knees before her, her brown head bobbing up and down pulling at her swollen nub, the sight itself was positively intoxicating, it pushed her climax further towards the edge. Emma allowed her queen to suck off her sex until she was almost ready to come and then by sheer will of force she panted a husky, "Stop!" The queen ceased her movements and gently let go of her white knight.

"Did I do something wrong?" The brunette asked knowing her knight had not climaxed. Emma collected herself for a moment; she had gotten far too close and she needed to be on edge for what she had in mind for her wicked little queen. Emma was breathless as she looked down into the worried eyes of her love, "No baby you were perfect. Now come with me." She held out her hand and helped Regina to her feet, guided her over to the bed and then sat her down on the edge. Emma felt the queen's eyes on her as she replaced her dildo rigs front leather piece, snapping it into place. She pulled out the dildo she had secured before and slipped it into the ring at the base. The rigid phallus bobbed as she pulled the straps to tighten the rig. Regina looked at it curiously. "Where did you get that?"

"I bought it a few months ago." Emma said shyly.

"It's… dainty." Regina said diplomatically. Emma smiled, "Yes it is. Come here."

Emma pushed her thumb into Regina's mouth, the queen opened without hesitation. She then guided the tip of the phallus to the brunette's thick lips. Regina looked up and saw the desire behind the blonde's dark hooded eyes and took the tip of the plastic dick into her mouth. The savior groaned out at the sight of her queen filling her mouth full of her cock. She gently held the back of the brunette's head and rolled her hips pumping in and out of her beautiful mouth. "Jesus fuck Regina you are so fucking hot!" Emma panted as the pull of desire wound tightly around her gut. She pulled her cock out of the queen's mouth, saliva dripped off the tip as she did. She bent down and kissed her queen hard on the mouth, her tongue instantly intruded searching out its mate. Emma hummed her pleasure, everything that was her queen was simply amazing to her. She broke their embrace and pushed the woman back on the bed, climbing on top of her, attacking her neck with ravenous bites, sucking her flesh, pulling dark bruises in several places along the side and base. Emma then concentrated on Regina's bulging cleavage. After several moments Emma mumbled over a mouthful of thick juicy flesh, "Can we take this home?"

Regina chuckled through her needy panting, "Anything you want darling."

Emma hummed and sat up, "Mhmm right, _anything_ … turn around on your hands and knees." Regina complied quickly, squeezing her thighs together, offering her incredible ass up to the savior. "Yes, exactly like that babe, fuck!" Emma said as she moved into position behind her. She ran her fingers over the material that covered Regina's chubby throbbing sex. Regina pushed back on the probing hand and sighed as she ground herself up against Emma.

"You want me baby?" Emma inquired knowingly. Regina rolled her hips and nodded her head, she panted in rapid short bursts of air. "Is your pussy quivering for my touch Regina?" Emma could feel the pulse of the woman's desire as she stroked her center. Regina moaned incoherently in response.

Emma hooked her finger behind the thin fabric and pulled it aside exposing the brunettes creamy slick slit. "Oh you are so wet! Your tight little pussy wants me to bury my cock deep inside you…" As her words left her mouth she saw Regina's sex twitch and a new flood of desire poured out from the woman. Emma rolled down the black thong that obstructed her access; Regina helped her by lifting each of her knees until the soaking wet undergarment was removed. She spread her knees wider, opening herself before the savior.

Emma rubbed the tip of the phallus against Regina's sex coating the tip with her desire. She slipped inside of the queen easily, the thin dildo stretching the woman's tight walls. Regina gasped a strangled breath as she was invaded. Emma pulled Regina's hips snug against her sheathing her cock fully into the queen. After a moment she started to pump her hips, thrusting the dildo with determinant force. Regina met her knights rhythm and slammed herself hard against the cock. "That's it babe, you take it like a good girl." The savior praised. Regina started to whimper as the phallus Emma had chosen to bring was not enough, she wanted more. Emma knowingly smiled wickedly at the desperate queen. "Is my cock not satisfying you my queen?" Regina groaned out in frustration. Emma pulled out of the brunette, Regina's juices dripping off of the thin dildo on to the bed. "Perhaps we should try a tighter hole." She smiled as she felt Regina's body grow rigid with uncertainty.

"Wait, no, Emma…" Regina started as Emma rubbed the wet dyke against her back entrance, spreading her lubricant over and around the tight little hole.

"Yes!" Emma insisted as she tickled the womans clit with a free hand, guiding the tip to her taut anus.

"Wait, stop, it's too big!" Regina started to panic a little until Emma shushed her, "Relax babe, trust me." Regina willed her body to relax, once she did the hard little ring opened up around Emma's cock and she was able to slip inside. Regina groaned out loudly, she had never felt anything like this before. She was so full.

"Just relax baby, let me stretch you out around my thick cock." Emma coaxed as she inched forward, resuming her ministrations over the brunette's swollen clit. Slowly she started to pump in and out of the brunette; the queen made carnal noises as Emma fucked her ass. "Yeah fuck babe, you take it, just like that you take all of me." Regina started to meet Emma in her thrusts, pushing back harder and harder, the sensations she was feeling were all encompassing, and Emma stroking her sensitive nerve bundle was far too much for the queen to handle she started to shake her head, "No Emma it is too much, I can't! You need to stop, for just a second. It is too sensitive!"

"Yes you can." Emma insisted, she wiggled her fingers brushing against the queen's hood and not directly on her exposed bundle, Regina lurched backwards against the blonde and started to buck wildly. Emma smacked her bubbly ass cheek with her free hand, hard over and over, reddening the flesh. A loud guttural groan rose out of the brunette and her vagina gushed ejaculate all down her inner thighs, Emma rode her wave out, thrusting into her ass all the way to the hilt, pulling back out then slamming into her again. Regina convulsed and sprayed her juices for several seconds before expelling all that she could and collapsing onto the bed, bringing Emma with her.

Emma didn't dare make a move to remove the toy, allowing Regina to enjoy her post orgasm bliss, kissing the brunette and whispering praise to her. "That's a good girl; I'm so proud of you!" Emma's heart was bursting with love for this woman, she has never been with someone who has been able to come like that before and after the first time she made her ejaculate, she wanted to do it over and over again. It made her feel powerful and desired; it was simply amazing.

Emma slowly pulled the phallus out of her queen meeting no resistance in doing so, Regina whined at the sudden empty feeling, but quickly adjusted, still not able to move after her mind blowing orgasm. Emma magically cleaned the toy and harness, removing it from around herself, and the queen's corset and packing them both away. She then dried the bed where Regina had exploded with a wave of her hand, and settled back to spoon her future wife.

"It is so amazing you can do that; that I can make you do that. I fucking love you so hard." Emma said with a jovial tone. She didn't get a response from her queen who was breathing deeply tucked away in her arms. Emma chuckled lightly and kissed her behind the ear. "Mine." She whispered. And settled down to go to sleep herself.


	23. Chapter 23

David stood at the counter at Granny's diner looking over a menu. "I'd stay away from the soup, mate." A deep accented voice says, grabbing his attention. "It is positively maniacal anyone would consider it nourishment."

"Killian. What can I do for you?" David said putting down the menu not hiding his disdain for the man in the least.

"Straight to business then? Splendid." The captain replied abhorring small talk. "I hear the savior and the evil queen have found a way to travel between realms. Is this true?"

"It is. They have successfully traveled back to our home and are setting up a way to travel between these two lands on a more permanent basis." David confirmed. Just then another voice chirped up from behind the men, "Emma and Regina are in the Enchanted Forest?" Neal asked loudly, his shock evident. "What about Henry?" he asked concerned.

"It is far too dangerous to bring their son." David answered annoyed. "He is safe." He added the reassurance to the would-be father. David had conflicting feelings for Neal. On the one hand he felt sorry for the guy, a father who missed his child's entire childhood, the choice being taken from him without his consent; David could certainly relate to the man. On the other hand, David's loyalty to his daughter outweighed his own paternal struggles, and she disliked the man. There had to be a good reason.

"What happened to your face?" David asked only mildly concerned.

"It was an accident." Neal mumbled not wanting to admit the man's own daughter had broken his nose during an argument.

"On the losing end of an argument with a door, were you Baelfire? Your perfect family portrait slammed shut on your face, did it?" Hook chuckled at his own wit.

Neal leered at the leather clad man and dug into his pocket to pay for the cup of coffee he had ordered, slammed the money down on the table and stormed out of the diner.

"Was it something I said?" Hook asked as Neal pushed past the men to get to the door. "Alright then Bae, we'll catch up later!" he called after the man as the door was closing. "So your highness, this portal, can it take you to other realms or just the Enchanted Forest?" Hook turned his jovial attention back to the blonde at the counter.

"Honestly, you'd have to ask the girls." He said absentmindedly. Hook however picked right up on the slip and nodded. "Emma is _with_ the evil queen is she?" his voice dropped to a much somber level than it had been when he was teasing Neal just moments before.

"She is." David said simply. "They are happy."

Hook took out his rum flask from the inside of his jacket, pulled the cork out with his teeth and spat it across the counter. "To happy endings!" he held it in a celebratory fashion then upended it into his mouth. "Do let me know when our lovelies return? I have much to discuss with them regarding my much wanted departure from this appalling realm." David assured the pirate he would be notified when the women returned, then went back to his menu to order lunch for his wife and himself.

Neal stomped down the sidewalk toward the room he was renting at Granny's inn when he suddenly stopped and lifted an eyebrow considering his options. He turned around and marched back down the street towards the sheriff's station. Tink would be on duty and the woman was obsessed with cute cat videos on You Tube. He could easily sneak in and steal some of the fairy dust they had confiscated several months ago.

 _He gave up everything for her to fulfill her destiny. He loved her, he had never stopped loving her! She couldn't understand why he did what he did! Why couldn't she understand? It was her destiny! To save thousands of lives from the Evil Queen's curse! He did it so she could save her family! The family she had always craved! He knew her! Better than anyone! How could she not see? He sacrificed his entire life for her! His family! His SON! He did it ALL for HER!_

 _All so she could shack up with the woman who destroyed the lives of everyone she touched? The woman who had destroyed the life of his pure and innocent Emma?! The woman whose name struck fear in the hearts of all! The Evil Queen who perverted his sweet Emma into hating him! Blaming HIM! When it was HER! SHE CAST THE CURSE! SHE RUINED HIS LOVE's LIFE! Ripping her away from her family! Dropping Emma as an infant in the middle of nowhere to fend for herself! HE was the Hero! SHE was the VILLAIN! The very thought of that woman raising his son made his skin crawl. No more! He thought. He may not have the family with Emma he wanted, but he'll be god damned if he is going to let them harm his son!_

Just as he thought, he heard Tinks high pitched squeal as she cooed over kitten videos. He tiptoed down the corridor that held the closet they stored evidence in. He took out his keys and unlocked it quietly. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him. He rushed to the back of the room and opened the satin bag that shimmered with magic. He looked around the shelves that surrounded him and saw an empty plastic evidence baggie. He grabbed it and scooped some of the dust inside of it, zipping the top closed. He heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall and David's familiar deep voice speaking to a much higher one. Neal quickly grabbed some of the dust sprinkling it onto himself and drawing the bag closed. He thought of his son, his beautiful perfect son and he began to rise off the floor. He flew up and huddled in the high ceiling as the door to the evidence room opened and David entered with a dutifully following Tinkerbell.

"It was locked, right?" he asked her looking around, paying close attention to the bag of magic in the back corner.

"Maybe? I don't know David, I came back here the other day to get some forms, I may have forgotten to relock it afterwards." She said guiltily.

"Alright well, it looks like everything is still in place. I just have a weird feeling. Let's try and remember to lock up the place we keep enough fairy dust to level the town, shall we?" he said sweetly.

The two blondes left the closet and Neal waited until the lock was set in place and he heard footsteps retreat from the door before he let out the breath he had been holding in.

 _'That was close.'_ He thought to himself. Still floating on the ceiling he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone; _'2:30. Damn.'_ He thought to himself when an idea struck him. He waited an extra few minutes hoping David had been satisfied with his findings in the closet and would leave the station before he dialed the station main line.

He heard the phone out in the main room ring, then Tink's voice on the other end of his line. "Sheriff's station how may I help you?" her sweet musical voice sang.

"Hey Tink, it's Neal."

"Hey buddy, what's goin on?" Tink replied slipping easily into friend mode.

"I'm down at the Rabbit Hole and Leroy is causing problems again, you may want to take a run down here before it gets outta hand." He lied quietly.

"Really? Can't you just talk to him with your manly gruff?" she whined, not wanting to go out into the cold of December. She had been quite acclimated to the perpetual summer of Neverland and Maine weather had been a true shock to her system.

"I've got my kid with me Tink, otherwise I would." He played the Henry card with perfection.

"If Regina finds out you took him to a bar, she will skin you alive Bae." Tink warned.

"I know, I know, we're leaving now, I just wanted to teach the kid how to play pool." He darted his eyes around nervously as he lied like a pro. "Do what you want, I'm just a concerned citizen calling in a tip." He goaded.

"Fine." She huffed. "I'll see you in the morning." She disconnected the line and he heard her slam the receiver down on the cradle. He stayed hovering on the ceiling for another 10 minutes; just to be sure she was gone before he willed himself back down to earth. He unlocked the door and poked his head out down the hall. Listening carefully he heard nothing, but the buzz of the coke machine at the entrance of the station. He slipped quietly out of the evidence closet and relocked the door. He then tiptoed out of the back door of the station, not wanting anyone to see him leave. He strutted down the alley with a satisfied smirk on his face as he palmed the fairy dust package in his pocket. He walked back to his room to pack up his belongings for his trip.

Ruby stood in front of the school, her arms wrapped around herself shivering in the cold. The thin blue leather jacket she wore was hot in the fashion sense, but did nothing to hold in the warmth for a practical sense. She stomped her feet lightly on the sidewalk willing her warm blood to make it down her long legs into her frozen toes. Perhaps stilettos were a bad choice for December. She stood head and shoulders over all the other mothers standing waiting for their respective children, so she had a clear view when she saw the brown headed boy she had been waiting for dart between several other children.

"Hi Auntie Ruby!" he called as he crashed into her in a warm embrace.

"Hey Kiddo!" she replied with a wide toothy smile. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and he her waist and they walked back to her Camaro. He looked back at his friend Nick who was peering jealously from around his sister. Henry waggled his eyebrows at him knowingly. Nick had a crush on Ruby and Henry did everything he could to make the boy jealous. It always worked.

They got into her chilly car and she started the engine. "Ready for tonight kid? We are gonna rock this shit!" she revved the engine and peeled away from the school.

What the woman and boy failed to notice was the man peering at them from across the street. He ducked down as the red Camaro screeched past him. He turned his own car over and drove out from his spot to follow the red car up the street. He followed them back to his ex-girlfriend's house, and watched as Ruby followed his son into the building. He put his seat back and huddled his jacket together and waited. Waited for nightfall. The cover of darkness. When he would take back his family. Henry would see, he would explain it to him, the boy was smart. He will understand this was the only way. He wouldn't leave his son like his own father left him. He was fighting to keep Henry. This was the only way.

When Emma awoke, her queen was still asleep next to her. Emma knew that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep so she decided to take a look around the palace, maybe find a place they can lock up the mirror here so they didn't have to go traipsing around in the woods.

She pulled on the clothes that Regina had magicked off of her the night before and snuck out of the bed chamber. The halls of the castle were wide and the place was downright chilly. It wasn't just the coolness of the air around them, it was the stark emotionless void of the entire place. It started to grate on the blonde as she searched the vastness of the castle. Finally she found a place that would be perfect for what they needed. A room in the sub cellar of the structure. It was carved out of the rock of the mountain range that lined the rear of the castle itself. The walls themselves didn't give away the rooms location at all and the mountain itself protected it from the outside world. The room was large enough to fit 15 or 20 persons comfortably, it was perfect for their needs. She used her magic and willed the mirror they had used as a portal down into the room. She hung it up against the far wall and stepped back to admire her handy work. Pleased with herself, she decided to go wake up her queen. The woman would be happy they wouldn't be camping out under the stars, that's for sure.

When Emma finally returned to the Queen's bedchamber, she was surprised to find the bed was empty and there was a chill in the air that hadn't been there when she had slept. She walked in and looked around the large room for her love and found her standing on the balcony. The brunette was completely nude standing in the cold December, or whatever month they called it in the Enchanted Forest, air. She quickly grabbed the quilt off of the bed and rushed to her lover's side and instantly drew her into the warmth of herself and the blanket that covered her. "Babe! You're frozen! What are you doing?" the blonde demanded.

The brunette's body was trembling, mostly from the cold. She didn't speak, her eyes were vacant and her skin had a slight bluish tinge to it. From Emma's experience the brunette was exhibiting signs of traumatic shock. "Regina! What happened?" Emma spoke loud as she looked into the dissociated eyes of her lover. "Babe can you hear me?" She picked the girl up in her arms and carried her over to the fire. She settled them down and used her magic to stoke the flames. She held the woman in her lap, holding her chilled body to her own, rubbing her hands up and down the brunette's extremities. She remembered somewhere that the fastest way to warm up someone who had fallen in a frozen lake or something was to have skin to skin contact, so she magicked off her clothing and pulled the woman closer wrapping them both in the quilt in front of the fire.

She held the woman and rocked her and whispered to her, "Babe please come back to me. I need you." Emma's lips found the spot on the brunette's forehead where she always kissed her, right at the top where her hair line started, where she could bury her nose into the woman's hair, breathing in her shampoo highlighted scent, but her lips still met with the skin of her forehead, her soft silky skin that felt so good against the savior's lips. She kissed her queen again and again, willing the woman to snap out of it.

"Emma?" the queen whispered after several excruciatingly long moments. Emma kissed her once more and rocked her queen in her arms, "I'm here babe. I'm here and you're safe, and everything is okay." Regina wrapped her arms around her white knight the warmth of the savior's body against her cold extremities burned her skin, but she held on nonetheless.

"Babe, what happened?" Emma asked after the queen had warmed up enough to stop shivering.

"I…" she looked up into her lover's worried eyes, "I had a dream that the curse was never cast, that everything that happened in Storybrooke never happened… I was still the Evil Queen, I was alone." Her tears breached the base of her eyelashes and hot tears spilled down over her cheeks. "Henry was never… you and I…" she fell into the blonde holding her. "None of it happened, then when I woke up…" she started to sob into her blonde savior's chest, unable to control herself, unable to stop.

"When you woke up, you were back here. You thought it was real." Emma finished studiously.

The brunette's head nodded slowly as she continued her soft sobs. Emma held the woman who never felt smaller, or more frail, the broken queen who never wanted to be. She rocked and soothed the brunette in her arms until the woman had either calmed herself, or ran out of tears to shed.

"I'm here. I'm yours." The blonde whispered into her lover's ear. "Always."

"My white knight." The brunette murmured.

"Always my Queen." The savior answered.

Regina looked up into the loving green eyes of her savior, she reached up with her delicate and cold hand and cupped the pale cheek of her love, "I want to go home."

"Okay babe. I found a spot for the portal within the castle. It'll be safe here. We can leave." Emma reassured her love. "Would you like something to eat? I'm starving."

"I want a granny burger." The queen pouted gently.

Neal broke into the apartment of his ex by using fairy dust to fly up to the rooftop garden area. There wasn't even a lock on the door up there and he was able to slip right in. It was well after 3 am and the entire house was asleep. He crept in and down the stairs, careful to not let anything creek, he slipped into his son's room.

Henry had fallen asleep with his earbuds in listening to something on his phone. Neal worked quickly, he had learned how to manipulate fairy dust from his time as a boy in Neverland and he quickly took no chances and entranced his son magically, making him easy to move without waking him. He quietly went though the boy's dressers and took everything he could fit into the bag that he brought. He also grabbed the kid's phone and earphone set and stuffed it in the bag. Everything else the kid would need he would get him on the way. He lifted his unconscious child over his shoulder and carefully and quietly exited the apartment the way he came.

He quickly deposited the teen into the back seat of his car and made his way out of town. He watched his rear view mirror with nervous intensity for anyone following him until he approached the town line. 'Leaving Storybrooke' sign came and went and he smiled smugly to himself. He relaxed a little more now that he had his son out of that town. He got on the 295 pointed his vehicle south and headed for New York, their new life awaited them, 7 hours away from his ex and her evil bitch.


	24. Chapter 24

Emma was a little disorientated when she stepped through the mirror and into her and Regina's small bedroom. Emma looked at the clock, almost 2 pm. "Henry isn't out of school for another hour and a half. Gee I wonder what we could do for an hour and a half?"

Regina smiled wide, "I'm sure we can think of something." She said sheepishly.,"I just want to go see his room. Just for a second."

Emma nodded, knowing that the dream had clung to her love. She needed a sense of her son. "I'm going to take a shower then, I'll meet you back here in 10 baby cakes."

Emma went into the bathroom and wasn't able to get the water turned on before she heard Regina's frantic voice calling for her. She dashed out of the bathroom and down the hall to her son's bedroom. Her fiancée was standing in the middle of the room, the look of horror and dread unmasked across the brunette's face. "Emma! She took him! She took our son!" Emma looked to where Regina was pointing, her son's dresser drawers are all pulled out and emptied. "What the hell? Where the hell would she take him? Boston?" Emma started to panic herself thinking of how things could have backfired, how her mother could still hold darkness in her heart, will it ever end?

"No! She can't leave the town Emma!" Emma looked at her confused. "None of us who were cursed can pass through the barrier." the queen reminded her.

"So we are prisoners?"

"No, we can go to the Enchanted Forest." Regina shook her head at the lack of attention to detail the woman put into her magic.

"Right." She ignored the annoyed look in her lover's face and continued, "So he is still in town." Emma's eyes darted around as she thought of where her mother would take their son. "Ruby would know where she is." She thought out loud. Snow told her best friend everything.

"No she wouldn't. She is taking some time away from your mother as well." Regina said frankly. "Knowing Rubes, she probably told Snow she just wanted alone time with her beauty."

"What? Ruby and Belle?" Emma looked at her bewildered. "When did that happen?"

Regina raised her eyebrows and looked at her blonde savior like she was clueless. "She may however, know where your father is."

Emma turned and latched onto the brunette and then transported them to Granny's. Their sudden arrival startled one of the waitresses who dropped a plate of dishes and food. "If you're going to whoosh, do so outside of a building, people expect you to enter through a door." Regina said quietly.

"Next time." The blonde shot back.

"Where's Mary Margaret?" Regina asked overtop of Emma asking "Where's Ruby?"

Granny looked at both of them and said, "City Hall putting together the woods search for your boy." she looked down at the waitress cleaning up the spilled food. Regina quickly did a restoration spell and the mess was cleaned up. "Put it on our tab dear." She said to Granny. Emma grabbed the woman around the waist and transported them to just outside city hall. They walk inside the main chambers and Emma's father was standing talking to a crowd of people heading up the search. "You have your assignments people, let's go find him!"

Regina held Emma's hand tightly as she weaved through and against the wave of people leaving the meeting room towing the blonde behind her. Regina marched straight for Mary Margaret, but Emma thought better of it, why would she be here if she snatched him?

 _"You'll regret this Emma Swan!"_ her ex's voice rang out in her mind.

"Regina!" Emma stopped her dead in her tracks. "Neal wasn't cursed. He left the Enchanted Forest of his own free will." All the color drained from the queen's face.

"No. You said he wouldn't!"

"No, I said I didn't _think_ he would." She saw the pained look in her son's mother's face and realized this was her fault. "Fuck." She had goaded and antagonized the man into this action. She was angry and needled him and they are now paying the price for Emma's lack of self control. Henry could be hurt. The feeling of not knowing where her child was dropped the floor out from beneath her, the look of pure agony on Regina's face made Emma's heart ache with regret.

The meeting hall has cleared out and David, Mary Margaret and Ruby come over to where the women were talking.

"I should have seen this coming." She worried her brow and looked at her girlfriend apologetically.

"Would he hurt him?" Regina steeled herself against the answer.

"I'll go. We'll take the barrier down. I'll go." Emma said ignoring the three who came up behind them.

"Take the barrier down?" David asks.

"Where's Neal David?" Emma looked at him dead in the eye.

"I-I don't know."

"Exactly. We need to take the barrier down so I can go get my kid from the idiot who took him."

"I'm going with you." Regina says defiantly.

"No babe you need to stay here. The barrier will be down, the town needs protection."

"What exactly would you like me to do?' Regina asks loudly. Overtop of David who said, "I'm not sure taking down the barrier is what's best for—"

Emma pinned a look at David, "You chose them over me. I'm not letting you choose them over my son. She'll protect you." She turned and looked at her future wife, "Babe, I don't care, Zick em with your freezie ray thing like you did to Neal! That is even IF anyone comes through here, I won't be long. When I get back with the kid, we'll dump anyone who does wander in, off in a random town or something!"

"How is that now? My freezie ray, as you put it, won't work over the town line!" Regina's inability to formulate a solution was due to her frustration at the set of circumstances she found herself in, it was too much for her to handle, losing her son, yet again, so soon.

David on the other hand stayed very quiet as he let his daughter's words settle.

"Jesus Regina! Give them sleeping pills or have Whale sedate them or something while they are still freezied! Let's take the barrier down! Focus woman!" Emma shot back at her. Her own worry sharpening her problem solving skills.

Emma spun back around to face her parents, just as she did, the day of portal creating, teleporting all over town and the stress of her ex taking her son caught up to her and Emma turned a pale green and rushed over to a waste paper bin and got sick.

"Emma sweetheart! Are you okay?" Snow rushed to her daughter's side.

"Yeah. Too much magic and stress." Emma replied as she wiped her mouth. Regina gave her a poignant look.

"Babe, as soon as I cross over the border, I'll feel better, there's no magic out there." She flashed her green eyes at the woman knowingly. "Look." She addressed the four adults huddled around her. "The kid has GPS on his phone and because he's her kid," she points at Regina, "He's probably already turned on his location. I'm fine. I'll go get him and bring him back. You guys keep the town calm while I'm gone and you know," She winks at her girlfriend. "zick any strays that wander in."

"Where's Henry's paperwork we signed saying he was ours?" Emma asked Regina.

"The Manor why?" Regina asked worrying her lip.

"Trust me, I know how Neal thinks. And no I looked for it when I was there, it wasn't there."

David piped up, "I think we may have it. I found some stuff in our closet that may be important for you two." He admitted quietly. Snow's face flushed a light pink. Emma rolled her eyes remembering why their personal documents would be in her parent's closet and she lifted her hand to transport herself over to her parents place when Regina grabbed her hand. "Aht! No more whooshing for you! Come here!" Her queen demanded.

"Yes Ma'am." Emma waggled her eyebrow as she put her arms around her girlfriend.

Regina transported them into the kitchen of David and Mary Margaret's apartment, and Emma instantly went into the back towards her parents bedroom. "Oh look!" Regina said hopefully. "They don't have the special 'Regina lock' locked on the door! Maybe they are starting to trust me." She looked around the room and realized she had just magically transported herself into the apartment. "Or they suddenly remembered I can whoosh in here whenever I want because a certain someone broke the curse!"

"Odds on that are 50/50 babe." Emma said as she emerged from the back room. "I love it when you say whoosh."

"Did you find it?" Regina asked Emma nodded her head yes and wrapped her arms around the brunette. Regina leaned into her and whispered, "Whoosh."

They reappear in their own apartment. Regina dug out of her purse several credit cards and hands them to Emma. "Whatever it takes. Get him back."

"Did you go to the manor?" Emma accused suspiciously.

"No, I had two weeks and the internet. If I was going to have to leave my home, I was going to do it as a Queen."

"Of course you were." Emma deadpanned. She shoved the cards into her back pocket then mumbled something about her phone charger. She ran to the back hall, re emerging moments later. She grabbed her queen by the hand and kissed her palm. She turned the woman's hand over and kissed the back gently. Emma started to slide Regina's engagement ring back onto her finger and just before it settled into place, she kissed the finger where it belonged. "Mine." She whispered and looked up at her queen. Regina crashed into the blonde. "Be safe my love." Her hold on the woman increased, "I hate that you are making me stay."

"Staying is what a hero would do." Emma said with all the belief their son held in the adage.

"I don't want to be a hero!" the brunette complained. "I want to burn half the world down with you and get our son back!" she pouted.

"I know." Emma said simply. She pulled back from their embrace and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'll be back before you can even miss me, babe. Now whoosh me to the bug."

"So we're just doing this?" Regina asked after the purple cloud dissipated around them standing next to Emma's vehicle. Emma looked at her questioningly. "You're just going to keep calling me babe? And I'm going to keep letting you?"

"I think that is totally happening right now." The deep dimple pitted smile didn't quite meet the blonde's eyes and Regina could see the worry and turmoil the blonde had about their son being out in the world. Regina leaned in and pressed her forehead against the savior's lips.

"Go get him dear. The barrier will be down before you hit the town line." She said softly.

"Don't we both need to take it down?" Emma looked more confused than she should have and Regina realized the woman hadn't paid attention when they cast the spell.

"No, we designed it so only one of us could take it down. Remember?" Regina said knowing full well the blonde didn't.

"Oh, totally. Now that you've said it, you know, out loud. I definitely remember that."

Regina gave her a knowing look.

"Come on Regina! I never thought we'd be taking the damn thing down!"

"Details Miss Swan!" Regina stroked her forehead in her frustration. "Magic is about the details!"

Emma waggled her eyebrows. "Right." She then batted her eyelashes, and said with a sexy young innocent voice, "Yes, Miss Mills, I promise, I'll try harder to pay attention next time."

She broke out in a bout of giggles than wrapped her arms around her love. "I'll be right back." She kissed her love one last time and got in the car. Opening up her phone app to track the boy she started the car and sped away. Regina held herself together and transported herself out to the woods; she felt the soft dirt below her boot's sole as she sunk gently into the forest floor. She stood in the exact place she wrote into the destruct sequence and deactivated the barrier. She then transported herself back home and went to take a shower.

As soon as the hot water consumed her body, that's when the queen fell apart, salty tears mixed with freshwater as she released the stress of having her son missing, losing the boy yet again. 'This time, though...' A voice within her reminded. 'The savior will get him.' The thought comforted her and she reminded herself, "She will never stop until she does. She is Emma Swan, she is the savior, and she is his mother."

Henry opened his eyes and realized he was not in the room he fell asleep in. He was not in a room at all. He was in a vehicle. He sat up with a jolt and cleared the sleep from his eyes. "Dad?" he asks puzzled seeing his father at the wheel. "What is going on?"

"Hey kid!" the man tried hard to appear relaxed, but Henry could see the stress in the man's face.

"Dad, where are we?" Henry asked looking around, they were on a highway, a dozen or so cars with people, who were not Storybrooke people whizzed around them. He deduced quickly they were no longer home. His anger flared as the realization of what was happening hit him like a ton of bricks. "You idiot! You left Storybrooke? We can't get back in!" he yelled at his father, whom he realized quickly had no idea what he was talking about. His father's face hardened and his anger flared, "We're not going back!"

"I am!" the boy shouted back at the man and started to yank on the door handles of the back seat doors to no avail.

"You just said there's no going back!" his father yelled back at him.

Henry stopped trying to open the door and folded his arms in defiance. "I don't care! I'll find a way!" he added for good measure, "Mom will figure out a way and come get me!"

"Emma left you Henry!" The man's voice no longer sounded like his soft spoken father. "This is for the best! She gave you away when you were born! She didn't even tell me about you! I would never have let you go!" the desperation the man felt was heavy in his words.

"You can't keep me here." The boy said worriedly. He wasn't sure how far he could push his father, the man seemed on edge as it was.

"Where are you going to go kid? You've got no money, no one but me. We are going to New York and we are going to have a life away from curses and evil witches and things that will hurt you son. You'll see." His father seemed to be trying to convince himself as much as the boy. "You'll have the life we deserved."

Henry went quiet at that moment. He looked around the back seat and saw the bag that was full of his clothing. He opened it and saw exactly what he needed sitting pretty right on top. His phone. He turned on his location and slipped the device back into the bag. He was still in his pajamas from the night before so he asked his father for his jacket. The look on the man's face was priceless.

"You didn't bring my jacket?" Neal looked at his son in the rear view mirror and could have sworn his ex girlfriend's disappointed look of contempt stared back at him.

"I'll buy you a new one." he said nervously breaking eye contact with the boy and not admitting any wrongdoing.

Henry grumbled something Neal couldn't quite hear and dug into the bag for a sweatshirt and pulled it on over his head. He grabbed his phone and put his earbuds in, completely ignoring his father for the remainder of the trip. He thought to text his moms, tell them where he was, but they were still in the Enchanted Forest. No one from town was leaving until they got back so Henry didn't chance it. He decided to play along with his father's ridiculous plan until his moms came and got him. The man was right, it's not like he had a stolen credit card this time around, and he knew his mom's would come.

Emma crossed over the town line and headed right for the highway. She knew Neal was taking Henry to New York. The man still had his apartment there and really, he was never a planner, she didn't need the GPS to tell her exactly where he had her son. She drove towards Bangor International Airport hoping to get on a flight to JFK within a reasonable amount of time. She had no idea when Neal left town with Henry, but they had a huge lead on her.

Meanwhile, back in Storybrooke Regina was unpacking the stuff they unnecessarily brought with them to the Enchanted Forest when the front door buzzed. She walked out to the door and answered it.

"Regina? It's Katherine. David gave me your address, may I come in?" Her friend Katherine's sweet voice filled the queen with concern and sadness as she remembered the feelings she had after being disposed. The lost feeling of being alone with the world against her. She steeled herself against the emotions threatening to overwhelm her and buzzed her friend up.

Katherine sat at the kitchenette counter as Regina poured her guest a mug of freshly brewed coffee. "I'm sorry we don't have tea dear, I haven't had a chance to properly shop." She apologized knowing the blonde's preference.

"No, no, I'm not here for the coffee anyway, Regina." Katherine said worrying her bottom lip. "I.." she started looking nervous about how to confront her friend.

"What is wrong Katherine?" Regina asked noting the woman's increasing discomfort.

"Why didn't you come to me?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" Regina looked at her friend confused.

"I heard about what happened, after they removed you from office. I was just wondering, why didn't you come to me? I would have helped you Regina." She said the hurt she felt plainly in her eyes.

"I… don't know." Regina lied. She had convinced herself that the woman wouldn't have believed her, that she would be like the rest of them.

"You know, I thought you had left town." She said sadly. "I tried to talk to the savior, but… and Henry was…" the blonde knit her brow together and looked up at her friend full of compassion. "I went to the council to get more of a police presence on Mifflin, after I saw what they did to your home." She saw the pained look in her friends dark eyes. "People were saying you'd left. I didn't think you would, not without Henry and Emma, but when you never showed up, I was hoping you had because the thought of the town harming you, was just too much to bear." A large tear rolled away from her friend's steel blue eyes. Regina was stunned and speechless not knowing if she should apologize or explain herself, and even if she did, what could she say. Clearly she hadn't understood the depth of her friendship she had with this woman. The past 3 decades of knowing one another, even under the curse, had clearly solidified a bond for the blonde, a bond that Regina couldn't imagine anyone having with her.

"I didn't think you'd…" Regina tried only to see the hurt cross the blondes face. "I'm sorry Katherine I wasn't thinking clearly." Regina explained carefully what had happened to her love and son, citing it an accident, something her blonde friend clearly didn't believe but the woman didn't press the issue either, figuring there were some things she just didn't need to know.

"I knew you didn't do any of those preposterous things they said." Katherine defended herself then added with an eye roll, "Please. Regina Mills _helping_ Mother Superior?" They both started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

They settled themselves back to a comfortable silence and Regina sighed. Katherine noticed Regina's ring and gasped. Regina's face broke into a proud smile as she showed off her new jewelry to her friend. "When did that happen?" Katherine asked admiring the piece. "Where did she get that? It is beautiful!"

"She had it made." Regina said proudly displaying the Swans on either side of the jewel setting. "She asked me to marry her the night of the Solstice Ball." Katherine cooed at the romantic notion of it all, then burst out hysterically laughing.

Regina's face shown her puzzlement and she asked her friend what was so funny.

"Your mother-in-law…" she gasped between hard rolling laughs "Is going to be Snow Friggin White!" Katherine covered her face as tears started fall from her eyes because she was laughing so hard. Regina chuckled with her friend as the realization dawned upon her and she deadpanned, "I'm never going to get away from that woman." then joined her friend in the rolling laughter that filled the small apartment.

"Thank you for coming over Katherine. I really needed that." Regina said holding the truth of her words in the emotions of her eyes.

"I could always stay. We could bake? I know how it makes you feel better, and I love a la mode apple, well, everything. Dealer's choice?" Katherine suggested, knowing full well her friend was in desperate need, and being alone wasn't what she needed.

"We'd need to go shopping." Regina said hopefully. She felt like perhaps company of a friend is exactly what she needed this day.

"Sounds divine." Katherine drawled pulling out her royal roots and putting on a show to ease her friend.


	25. Chapter 25

Emma boarded her flight and found her seat. She was anxious and annoyed and after take-off her stomach decided to rebel, she forgot she hadn't had anything to eat since the trail mix she got into while she was still at her lover's castle that morning. The plane decided at that moment to hit turbulence and she felt the tail end drop much further than she was prepared for and she grabbed at the airline provided airsick bag located conveniently in the seat pouch in front of her. She lurched forward and dry heaved into the paper sack. It felt so wrong to be both starving and nauseous at the same time. She pushed the call button for one of the flight attendants and when they came she asked for some water. The redhead brought back a bottle of water, a couple packages of peanuts and a moist towelette. She smiled and thanked the woman. The voice of her lover came back to haunt her, "You need to take care of yourself, it wouldn't do to have our sainted savior sick now would it?" She rolled her eyes, but smiled at the thought of her love.

Emma landed in JFK at 5 pm, the flight had taken less time than the security checks to get on the damn plane and she was highly annoyed. Fueled by her annoyance she passed through the security quickly to get out of the damn airport and jumped in a cab, she gave the address of her ex's known apartment and sat back closing her eyes. The smell inside the cab was not doing anything to settle her stomach and she considered stopping into a convenience store and buying some Gravol. The cab stopped suddenly and she realized they had arrived at Neal's apartment. She paid the driver and gratefully got out of the vehicle. She stood for a moment on the sidewalk pulling herself together. That unsteady feeling she got when she used too much magic was bubbling up to the surface. She closed her eyes and leaned up against the cool brick of the building. This feeling shouldn't be happening, she was outside of Storybrooke, there is no magic out here. Her mind reeled at the possibilities, ranging from what if magic escaped out into the real world? To the stress of being the savior has given me an ulcer! She steadied herself and the feeling soon passed. She pressed a random apartment and told the person who answered there was a package. The buzzer sounded and she walked in. She ran up the stairs two at a time to get to Neal's floor and then pounded on his door.

The brunette was startled when he opened his front door to see his blonde ex standing visibly angry at his doorstep. She pushed into the apartment as he tried to slam the door on her. "Taking babysitting pointers from your dead ex girlfriend Neal?" Emma snarked then called for her son. Henry came running from the other room his bag in hand. Neal stood in front of him and grabbed the boy. "I'm not afraid of you! You don't have magic here!" Neal barked at Emma.

"I didn't use magic to do that." She said pointing at the man's nose. Emma lifted her fist and Neal flinched. He pulled Henry back further into the apartment. "You left him! You took your girlfriend on a vacation fuckfest and left the kid!" He spat out the word girlfriend with as much contempt as he could muster.

"I left him with family!" Emma roared at him, she raged at his audacity of calling her a bad parent! She was livid.

"Another couple of dykes!?" he spat knowing it would cut the blonde.

"You have no legal right to him here, Neal." Emma stowed the anger he was trying to goad from her, knowing full well he was trying to get her to lose her cool.

"Neither do you!" he threw back at her.

Her face cooled triumphantly, "Actually, Neal, I do. Regina has spent the last 15 years blending Storybrooke infrastructure into the Maine government. How do you think she got our kid? He was on the outside Neal. Her adoption is legal. She put my paperwork on the books. I am his legal guardian. You're a sperm donor I dated over a decade ago who came in and stole our child! Stole him from his loving parents."

She saw the switch flick off in his head at that moment, his eyes grew cold and his nostrils flared. "All I have to do is say Regina put those marks on Henry." he held up the boy's arm "The kid is old enough to polygraph. As a concerned father, I'll insist! He doesn't remember doing it to himself! You really think he can lie under pressure?!" his lips curled up into a sneer, "Or are you just going to tell social services, one of Rumpelstiltskin's potions poisoned him into being an emo hood rat?"

Emma's eyes grew fearful of losing her kid to this guy, "You wouldn't." she whispered.

"At very least there will be an inquiry Emma. Government officials around a bunch of fairy tale creatures? They maybe Americans on the books, but they are still fairy tale people. How do you think that'll play Em?" He pulled back and released the kill shot knowing he was in the right. His smugness poured off of him in waves.

"This right here, Neal. _This_ is why I lied to Henry. When I told him you were dead! I knew what you were all about from the moment I saw you in New York. You're the same petulant child that ran away from daddy 200 years ago all because his father had a substance abuse problem. Instead of helping him, you ran out on him Neal. Like you ran out on me! Like you'll run out on Henry one day!" she pulled no punches, he had struck her were it hurt but she knew his weaknesses just as well as he knew hers. She looked down at her son, at his heart breaking, just a little at the situation he found himself in, then he steeled his jaw, his hazel eyes darkened and it was almost like the soul of Regina Mills possessed the boys features right in front of her.

"Or maybe, just maybe, he'll do the running Neal. He is 13 years old. Look at him. He understands that you are trying to hurt his parents. The ones who love him, tuck him in at night, stay up with the fevers, spend time and educated him about right and wrong." The man looked down at the boy and worry crossed his face. "He sees who you are Neal. How long before he walks away from you?"

Henry ripped his arm from his father's grasp and sided with his mother. He stared Neal down with the infamous Mills glare. "If you try to turn my mom in for child abuse, I'll tell them I did it to myself. I'll tell them that I did it because ever since my new dad came to town, I've been upset because I feel uncomfortable with how he insists on sleeping in the same bed as me." Henry squints his eyes and pulled out a single tear, soon several began to fall. "He touched me in my no touch place officer! I just want to go home to my moms!" He sniffed his nose and steeled his face once more reminiscent of the brunette Emma had met a few years ago. Emma's mouth dropped open and Neal's slack jawed shocked face flinched when Henry wiped the tears from his cheeks and said, "You have no idea what I'm capable of!"

Emma snickered in surprise of her son and turned back to her bug-eyed ex. "Yeah 13 years living with the evil queen hasn't taught him anything. You're dumber than you look." She grabbed her son's hand and led him away from his dumbfounded father.

Back down on the street Emma waved down a cab to take them back to the airport. Once inside, she pulled the boy into her and kissed his head. The panic she had felt from the moment she realized the boy was missing dissipated now that he was in her arms. "That didn't really happen right? What you said about Neal?" He shook his head no. "Okay, good, just checking. Let's not tell your mother we threatened Neal with being a pedophile, hmm?"

He tightened his grip around his mother, "She comes in handy, mom."

"Who does?" Emma asked absently.

"The evil queen." He replied.

She smiled and nodded, her dimples carved deep into her cheeks. "Yes she does baby." She felt it much easier to breathe now that she was reunited with her child.

Regina smiled as she read the text message from her love that informed her of success. Katherine had gone home after a fantastic day of domestic bliss, something Regina had needed for some time. They had polished off the two bottles of wine Emma had rescued from the manors ashes and created an entirely new form of turnover apple tart the queen was anxious for her family to taste test. Creativity in the kitchen always gave her a semblance of peace and she was in desperate need of that peace after the hell she had gone through over the last month. She casually tossed a tea towel over her shoulder as she finished straightening up her new kitchen. The apartment, however large it felt, was quite small in all of the ways she loathed. Small closets, small kitchen, small bedrooms, no bathtub. She had decided that the Swan-Mills family next top priority be their home. She had all but given up hope at having her family in a custom built home out in the country until Emma mentioned it as they explored their new apartment, and ever since the happy reminder Regina's mind flooded with ideas for layouts and landscapes. She hadn't wanted anything too large, she'd had large and grandiose, it wasn't what it was cracked up to be and it certainly didn't speak of Emma's personality. No. She envisioned the blonde would want a two story ranch style log home, something that felt a little more rugged and natural. Regina had always designed her spaces to be large and sterile, almost like she was putting the metaphoric walls she had around herself up in the physical world around her. That wasn't who she wanted to be, and this project was going to give her the opportunity to find out who exactly she was now; who she is, not who others expected her to be.

The door buzzer brought the queen out of her day dreaming and she crossed the room to answer it. The voice on the other end of the intercom was that of Killian Jones. Regina rolled her eyes at the prospect of having to deal with the mongrel.

"What do you want pirate?" She barked with contempt.

"I'd like to come in, if you don't mind." he simply stated. She could hear his overconfident smile in his voice and it did nothing but irritate her.

"I do." She replied flatly. She walked away from the door to go back to her feel good mood, away from the pirate whom she had such an elaborate past with.

"I need your help, your Majesty." His voice echoing out into the open room. She hung her head and sighed, then spun around on the heel of her foot. She pressed the buzzer to allow the one handed wonder entrance to the downstairs door.

She opened the door with a look of contempt, currently seeing nothing but the man in her love's arms the night of the ball. He smirked knowingly, "Is our fair Swan home?"

"She is not 'our' Swan, pirate. She is _my_ Swan. And no, she is not at home. She'll be home later this evening." Her eyes narrowed as she expected the man to fight her on that point, but she was surprised when his eyes softened, just for a moment before his Hook persona took over once more with a devilishly handsome half-smile and a nod to the head. "Of course your Majesty." He drawled, then getting down to business. "I understand you ladies have a way to create portals. Is this realm specific or any land?" Regina lifted her brow with surprise. "We can create a portal to anywhere." She answered then jibbed, "Looking to plunder a distant land pirate?"

"Aye. This world has lost its appeal as it were." He grinned his fake smile towards the queen.

"I suppose it has." She said quietly.

"I cannot control how the heart feels," he pointed at her with his good hand, "you treat her well your majesty, you don't know how lucky you are she still returns your favor."

"Still? It was one dance pirate no need to get your hook all bent out of shape." She said, knowing full well Emma's dalliance had been with Mr. Cassidy and the urge to rub it in Captain Leather's face was strong.

"Is that what she told you?" he honestly looked hurt and the queen was searching the pirate's face for clues to what he could be talking about.

"She has told me nothing. She remembers nothing." She said honestly. "Emma was cursed by… one of Rumpelstiltskin's potions." She said carefully, remembering they weren't implicating the girl's mother for fear of explanation. "The last few weeks her actions were not her own." She added to clarify.

The man's face was that of shock, his jaw agape and his eyes searched the queen for anything that would prove her false, but saw nothing but contempt as she pieced together her fiancée's involvement with the one armed man based on his reaction. "You were _with_ her." She whispered. Her words colored with the jealousy she felt. She felt the sting behind her eyes but willed herself to hold onto her emotions, this was not the time to break down.

"Aye." He said simply, his eyes shown the shame he felt. He had known her actions had been uncharacteristic, but he had hoped that perhaps she had felt something.

Regina took a deep breath in and held it as she pursed her lips together, but before she could lay into him he spoke softly and clearly. "I love her. I had hoped she'd given me a chance, I didn't know she wasn't in control of what she was doing. I would never harm her." The depth of his sincerity caught Regina off guard and took the wind out of her sails. No matter how much she despised the man before her she knew he wasn't the blame for this. The woman who did this, will never pay the price. Regina crossed her arms across her chest defensively and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't ever tell her, she has enough on her plate."

"Aye." He nodded sadly. The two stood in silence for there was nothing more to say on the matter.

"I'd like to set sail on the Jolly Roger, post haste, there are a few men who would like to join me, to be my crew." He broke the quiet understanding the rivals had shared and brought the focus back on his departure.

"We should be able to make a portal on the reflective properties of the water. Just know nothing is guaranteed." She said amicably.

"Splendid." He beamed false happiness. "When can we depart?"

"I believe the Charmings have a signup sheet down at the library. They are holding first come first serve." She said absently.

"Is there a way to get a VIP pass?"

"A Very Important Pirate?" she drawled with a smirk.

"Indeed, we can all agree, I am that." He smiled and bowed with a flare of his hand.

"I'll see what I can do." She said with a nod. He turned to leave her standing in the open doorway. "Killian?" she called to him and he turned. Thinking how quickly everything can turn on its head in this life, and what her life was like the short time she was without the blonde's love. "In fact, I do," she swallowed visibly. "realize how lucky I am."

"Good." He said seriously and descended the stairs to leave the building.


	26. Chapter 26

Emma followed behind Henry as he ran up the stairs towards their apartment. It was close to midnight and it had been a long day, but she knew the brunette was up waiting, in the kitchen most likely, for her son and savior to return to her. She heard the boy call out to his mother, his voice echoing in the stairwell. The deep voice of her fiancée followed as she breathed out the boy's name and then the barrage of questions the brunette had about the boy's well being. Emma smiled as she could feel the relief as if it were tangible all around her. She stood in the doorway and watched as the mother of her son checked every inch of him herself, just to make sure he was undamaged and then hugged him once more.

"It's late kid, go get ready for bed." Emma called a lazy smile stretched across her face as she watched Henry let go of his mother then yawn as he bent down to pick up his bag. Emma closed the door behind her and locked the deadbolt. After hanging up her jacket she sauntered over to her queen who had been standing there watching their son shuffle off to bed. Regina turned to her love and jumped into her arms, wrapping herself around her lover's body. "You did it, you really got him back!" she whispered her gratitude into the messy blonde locks that covered her own face.

"Of course I did, I'm a Charming, finding each other is kind of what we do." She said with a chuckle as her girlfriend groaned, "You didn't just go there!" Emma laughed, "Oh I think I just did."

The brunette hummed out as Emma slid one of her hands down under her ass to support her weight and then kissed her.

"Did I miss anything? What is that smell? It is like cinnamon apple heaven in here! Did you bake?" Regina had an ear to ear smile on her face as she nodded her head. "I'm starving!" The blonde exclaimed suddenly feeling the weight of not eating a proper meal that day.

"You didn't feed my son?" Regina pulled back and looked at the blonde with a scowl.

"He ate at the terminal in JFK, pizza. I wasn't into it." Emma said remembering her stressful day and the toll it took on her body. "However, I could be totally into whatever apple baked awesome is making the house smell so scrumptious!"

Emma supported her fiancée as she detangled herself from around the blonde's hips and steadied herself on the floor once more. "I'll make you up a plate of _actual_ food, give me just a moment."

"Baked goods are _actual_ food!" Emma complained, but knew she wouldn't be winning this fight by the look on her girlfriend's face.

Emma shoveled the last of her impromptu dinner into her mouth and hummed her pleasure. The stresses of the day had been slowly leeching from her now that she was home. It had been more than being within the confines of her house, because that was just where she lived, but back with her queen, the woman who grounded her, completed her, in every way. That was her true home. Regina cleared away the dishes and turned to tidy up the kitchen. Emma watched the woman from her seat at the island and felt herself getting lighter as she unknowingly let go of the days and weeks of uncertainty and drama.

"Hey." Emma said barely above a whisper, "Come here."

Regina turned her head slightly, shooting a questioning look towards the blonde. "I'm almost done." She replied her tone, barely a rumble.

When Emma first arrived home she had been drained by the tension of her day. Arguing with Neal, the petty bickering with him, the worry it caused for her future, the town's future, had physically drawn the energy from her. The entire plane ride home she thought about being near her queen, and now her very presence soothed her in ways she didn't quite understand, but sincerely appreciated. Now that she'd been home for a bit, her energy was starting to come back.

"Regina." Emma stood and tried once more, feeling more desperate to be near the woman. The brunette turned as she stopped what she was doing, wiped her hands dry on a towel as she sauntered over to her savior. "Yesss?" She hissed with a huge smile. As her proximity lessened Emma could feel her magic rise up within her starting with a cold piercing sensation deep within her gut that radiated up and out to the surface. The blonde's body shivered as it cooled with the sensation. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and lifted her up, kissing her with the hunger she felt at that moment. Emma sat Regina up on the counter and continued to kiss her, not breaking contact until her lungs were screaming for air.

As the cold feeling enveloped her she could see bluish white tendrils pooling at her feet inching their way towards Regina. A light translucent violet sparked over her skin and she looked down at her arm in amazement. Regina gasped as she was just as surprised as she felt the warmth of her own magic being drawn up as if it had a mind of its own. Crimson luminescence reached out from within the brunette toward the blonde who now had a look within her eyes, a longing she has seen before, but this time there was something, more. Emma's magic crackled in the air around them startling the blonde into attention. Emma looked down at her hand with worry, and then looked into the eyes of her love who was closely watching the magical lightshow. The pale light that shimmered off of the blonde's skin reflected off of Regina's cheeks as she stared in wonderment at the savior's body. Emma reached up and cupped the brunette's cheek and when she did, their magic combined and let off a brilliant white light that was both hot and cold to both of the women. The white translucence continued to pulse everywhere their skin touched.

"What is happening?" Emma questioned the mayor in a whisper.

"Our magic is reaching out for one another. I think, I can't control it." Regina replied astonished.

"I can feel you inside of me." Emma growled with need.

"That is because I am." The queen said with a smile. Emma knit her brow in confusion.

"Think of your magic as if it were an appendage of sorts. It is why you sometimes don't have to think about what you're doing, it just happens. It's like a dog with a tail." Regina tried to explain.

"So your tail is inside of me?" Emma smiled one of her wide toothy grins. Her dimples dug deep into her cheeks and then her mirth filled eyes met Regina's hunger filled ones. The white of their magical mix reflected off Regina's wide amazed eyes causing the onyx they would have been to appear almost grey in comparison. The queen ran her fingers up Emma's arms, the cool tingles burning into their flesh.

"It feels kind of amazing, doesn't it?" Emma asked as she watched the delicate hands travel over her skin.

"Indeed." The queen drawled. Regina's eyes turned primal, her gaze on Emma's lips intensified as she pulled her own bottom lip in between her teeth and bit down expectantly. Her hand ran up over Emma's strong shoulders, then traced a line along her clavicle. The trail of magic left a golden white line where her fingers disturbed the thick violet magic of the savior. Emma cupped the back of the queen's head and then pressed her forehead against Regina's and both women moaned out as a million icy pin pricks sprayed out in all directions.

"Has this…" Emma couldn't quite catch her breath, the emotion of the moment consuming her, "Ever happened to you before?"

Regina swallowed thickly and looked intently into green eyes that seem to be glowing against the darkness of the room, and shook her head no. "I didn't even know this was possible Emma." She pulled the blonde into her, breathing in the blonde's needy panting breaths. "You are so amazing to me."

"The whole time I was away from you, I felt… so much…less…" Emma whispered headily.

Emma's hands dropped down and slipped under Regina's thin sweater, keeping skin to skin contact. She focused and pressed her magic into Regina's. Regina gasped as she felt the savior surround and consume her. Violet tendrils danced around crimson ones in a slow seductive dance of give and take giving off white hot sparks.

"I think I'm addicted to you Regina. You are my everything."

Regina groaned out in need and Emma kissed her queen, pushing into her roughly, pushing passed the magic their bodies were giving off and pressing hard into the womans skin. As soon as their lips touched a singular ring burst out from between them. "What the hell was that?" the savior tried to pull back from the embrace only to be held still by the need of her queen. Regina mumbled into Emma's lips, pulling the back of the blonde's head toward her. "Felt like true love's kiss."

"Didn't we already share true love's kiss?" Emma asked breathlessly.

"Uh huh." Regina mumbled out between kisses. Emma pulled back from her loves hungry kisses. "Isn't that weird?"

"I really don't know." Regina replied. "For non-magical beings, yeah, but..." The power they generated between them was starting to feel overwhelming as it set her body on icy fire.

Regina's hands slipped down and were now on the blonde's hips. Pulsing energy from their skin to skin contact keeping rhythm of their hearts that seemed to be beating as one. The queen's fingers splayed out and covered the blonde's abdomen rising so very slowly.

"That tingles inside of me." Emma comments breathlessly as her hips startstarted to rock against the magical intrusion. "Oh god Regina, don't stop, that's awesome." Emma panted out as Regina lowered her hands back down and slipped between the blonde's legs. "I need to feel all of you against all of me." Emma growled out, eliciting a squeal from her queen.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and her legs around her midsection, Emma buried her face into Regina's cleavage. "I'm going to devour you entirely." Emma mumbled as Regina dropped her head back and laughed. Emma lifted her queen and carried her back to their bedroom.

Emma gently released the brunette from her grasp setting her down. Regina walked over to the door frame and closed the door, she lifted her hands up and a shimmering light cascaded over the walls of the room. She turned around and looked back at the blonde with a predatory look, "A sound barrier spell." She hissed at the surprised look of her lover. As soon as Emma heard that, she started taking her clothing off, never breaking her focused eye contact with the queen as Regina did the same. Emma reached out with her magic and let it envelop the brunette before her, pulling the woman to her, she greeted Regina with her lips first, a deep meaningful kiss, slow and passionate where she emptied herself into it. Pulsing energy burst off of the women as they kissed.

Emma's hands wrapped themselves into Regina's chocolate locks as she bit down on Regina's top lip, kissing and sucking never getting quite enough of the woman before her. She spun the brunette around and slowly steered her back onto the bed, the light of their magic illuminating the room entirely with a soft pulsing glow. Regina grabbed Emma and rolled them over so she was on top of her knight pushing her center into the blonde beneath her with a steady rhythm; Emma groaned out as Regina's magic enveloped her completely. Regina slid her hand down between them leaving a thick white line of magic down the blonde's fair skinned body, pushing her fingers between the wet folds of Emma's sex. The savior cried out as Regina entered her, the intensity of the icy hot intrusion captivated the blonde and as Regina gently filled her lover, she ground her own hips against her knight in rhythm of her thrusts. The all-encompassing feeling was overwhelming to Emma and made her body buck wildly as she came completely undone. Regina who could feel everything she is doing to Emma as if it was being done to her tumbled over her own climax as well. Both women breathlessly panting, being consumed by each other in a magical display neither had ever experienced before.

Once Emma was able to catch her breath she kissed her queen, feeling the love she felt both ways as the lover and the loved, her heart skipped in her chest and she whispered into the small space between Regina and herself. "I can't get enough of you."

"You may have all that I am my Knight." Regina replied. They kissed once more as true love's kiss burst around them in an awesome show of power.

"Mine." Emma whispered as she looked into her queen's dark eyes.

Now that Emma had her family back she felt more grounded, more in control over herself and her magic. This was the day Emma and Regina opened a portal to Toril, the Forgotten Realms. Killian Jones had deliberated over where it was he wanted to go, and Toril was his first choice. The land was perfect for someone looking to lose themselves, sure it had magic, but it also had the potential for adventure. Something he had promised the men and women who chose to sail with him that day. He took a crew of 8, many who chose to go with the pirate had previously been under his captainage before and were more than willing to follow the man to this new world. Included in his chosen family was one of Queen Regina's black knights, Karlonius. She remembered him well as she used his particular skill of intimidation to her advantage, frequently. Karlo was a stocky man, his features were rough and shown clearly the life he had led in the Enchanted Forest. He was one of the few Regina had trusted, she hadn't had to remove his heart for his loyalty to her, he had given it freely. For when he was a mere teen the newly crowned Queen had saved him from royal execution.

 _The boy had been Snow's age, and had been accused of theft. The newly appointed Queen just happened to be in the area that day and had taken pity on the boy as he stood proudly in the square, not denying the accusations of the merchant who adorned his riches openly, just stood silently as a tear ran down his grubby face. A small blonde girl all the age of 6 cried at his feet insisting it wasn't him who stole the apple. The queen looked at the boy and asked him, "Did you do as this man said? Do not lie to your Queen." Karlo closed his eyes and bowed his head in reverence, "I could never lie to you, my queen."_

 _"Then answer me." The queen demanded._

 _"I may not have stolen the food from this man, but I am responsible for it being taken." He replied with a nod, satisfied that punishment will be swift._

 _"How exactly are you responsible?" Regina had asked._

 _"The apple had fallen from the merchant's cart, my sister, Gale, picked it up. I did not tell her to give it back to the man, and I should have. I knew it was wrong, but she hadn't eaten…" the boy trailed off too proud to admit his failure to provide for his kin in front of the entire town. The queen whipped around and stared down the merchant. "You call for this child's execution over a discarded piece of fruit?"_

 _The man had been shocked into idle defense of his actions, "This mongrel stole!" the plump merchant argued. "Royal law decreed punishment is determined by…"_

 _"Do not dare quote the law to your Queen!" Regina roared at the man. She looked at the two knights that stood vigil by her carriage, "Release this boy at once!" Karlo dropped to his knees before the beautiful girl who saved his life and vowed allegiance to her. "For the rest of my days I am yours, your majesty." Regina instructed the royal knights to take the boy in and train him for the royal guard. His life debt would come in handy she surmised and it certainly did that. As the boy grew, he rose through the ranks of the guard and became one of her most loyal knights._

Regina walked up to the man of her thoughts and cupped his scarred cheek. "Sweet boy, our paths finally part it seems." A shy smile graced the man's face. "I trust you are in capable hands your Grace." His voice deep with reverence. "I am no longer needed."

She looked back at her white knight who was watching their exchange carefully. "Indeed. Keep yourself safe." She kissed him upon his forehead and bid him safe travels before watching him board the ship. Emma came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her midsection. "Hey." She whispered into the tussle of brunette, "Ready?" she asked. Regina replied with a nod and took Emma's hand as she led her to the end of the dock. They each sat down on the edge of the wooden pier and pooled their magic to open the portal on the water. Careful to project and contain said magic to a specific area just beyond the bow of the boat. The green and white swirl of magic tinted the water as a gentle vortex was created several meters port of the bow. Regina was the first to stand and waved off the Captain who lifted his silver hook to his brow in response. Regina smiled briefly and moved to help the blonde up who remained in her seated position. Portal creation was one of the things that depleted Emma of her magical energy and creating the portal large enough to accommodate the Jolly Roger was particularly draining. She staggered as she stood up and grabbed a hold of Regina for the support she willingly offered. "How does that not affect you like this?" Emma asked a little exasperated. "Years of practice dear." Was the brunette's answer. They could hear the pirate shouting out commands to his newly formed deck hands as the ship slipped passed them towards the portal. Once the ship rode the current into Toril they waited several more moments before sealing off the watery portal behind it. With an arm around her love Emma walked with Regina back up the pier towards their car, the little crowd that had gathered to see off the ship had started to disperse and Emma leaned into her love and spoke. "So what is with you and Hook?"

"Whatever do you mean dear?" Regina replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, the hate that used to be there between you is gone. What's up with that?" Emma said clarifying herself.

"We've come to an understanding." Regina said cryptically.

"Oh well that explains everything."

Regina simply chuckled, but did not explain herself further.

The drain on Emma had lasted several weeks after the portal to Toril had been created so the next group that was scheduled to go to the Enchanted Forest had to wait a bit before they were able to travel.

Ruby and Belle had made the decision to try starting fresh back home. A new life with a new love, in a new home. Ruby gushed to Emma that she couldn't be happier. "Granny will be staying here, so we are going to take over her cottage out in the woods. It is going to be so…" Ruby's eyes lit up as she thought about her future with the woman she was in love with, "perfect." She settled on an adjective that was so much less than the feelings she felt.

"Yeah, but Rubes! I'm going to miss you!" Emma complained as she stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. It was the truth, but she was also quite happy for her friend that she had found peace and acceptance with the young librarian.

"Don't be silly! We will see each other all the time! I mean, you'll be coming home to visit your parents right?" Ruby asked unknowing the Charming couple hadn't yet told their daughter they were moving back home to take up leadership in their old land.

"Right." Emma said with a frown trying not to show the hurt she felt so deeply.

"I mean it's not like they want to raise kids here or anything and well who else would run the kingdom?" Ruby said absentmindedly.

"They are having a baby?" Emma asked unable to hide the disappointment she felt. She knew it was something her mother had wanted, but the wolf made it sound like it was a definitive plan. Her choice of words spoke volumes that the wolf did not pick up. _A_ baby. Not _Another_ Baby. _She was never theirs. They sacrificed her. Her life. To save themselves. To save their land._ Emma was shaken by this news and needed to leave, she felt the draw to run immensely and that feeling easily won out. She made an excuse to leave the young wolf and headed out the door. She didn't know quite where she was going but she needed to get far away from people. She hopped in her bug and started to drive, she drove and drove, in circles mostly because since they re-erected the barrier she couldn't leave Storybrooke. After almost an hour she pulled into city hall's parking lot.

 _Regina_.

She needed her now more than ever and knew the woman, no matter how busy she was, would drop everything for her love in crisis.

"Darling they could never replace you." Regina said with truth and compassion in her eyes.

"No? Well they are certainly going to try." Emma said trying to hold her emotions back. She felt like the rejected orphan she had always been. The unwanted orphan she had forgotten for a moment that she was.

Regina lifted the blonde's chin and looked at her with her melted chocolate eyes, "They just want what was taken from them."

"I wasn't taken from them Regina!" Emma said angrily as she pulled away. "I was sacrificed!" she knew she sounded like a petulant child in that moment, but was far too upset to care.

"That maybe so, but you will still be their first born." Regina countered.

"I can't forgive them." Emma said, not looking into Regina's loving eyes. She knew if she looked up she would lose the anger she currently held and she wanted to feel the anger, at least for a few more minutes.

"No one said you had to." Regina said as she wrapped her arms around the blonde savior, pulling her into a warm embrace. At that moment Emma lost her composure and broke down into quiet sobs against her lover's chest. After a moment she admitted, "I feel like an asshole for hating that they want kids."

"You will find a way to move passed it darling." Regina said comforting the blonde. Her hands drawing large circles across the savior's back. "Think of it this way dear, all of your mother's annoyingly suffocating antics will be taken out on your little brother or sister." This caused the blonde to chuckle, "I love the way you look at the world." Emma said with a sigh.


	27. Chapter 27

Over the next few weeks Emma kept herself busy; between working a little bit extra down at the station to working closely with Marco designing the Swan-Mills new home and taking regular trips back and forth through the mirrored portal. Between work and portal hopping, not to mention actual Swan-Mills family fun, she hadn't had much time to devote to mending bridges with her parents. Well her mother specifically.

Snow and David hadn't left Storybrooke as of yet and hadn't actually gotten around to telling their daughter their plans. Snow had, however, accepted the fact that Emma was an adult and could very well "make her own mistakes" as she so poetically put it, in regards to her love life and Emma wasn't quite ready to get into the forget part of forgive and forget. It didn't help at all Snow held contempt for Emma's choice of partners. The few times they did see each other it had been awkward and full of passive aggressive strife. The entire situation put Emma on edge, and she hated how they had been treating each other when they were together, so she did what she could to avoid the little brunette. They had hit an impasse where Snow insisted that even if her methods were extreme she was confident she had only her daughter's wellbeing in mind and Emma felt it was a personal attack on the happiness she had fought so long to get. They weren't agreeing to disagree and instead of continuing the stressful situation, Emma retreated into a daily routine that lacked Charming influence. She saw her father in passing as they both filled in more at the Sheriff's station to cover the sudden lack of staff, but avoided her mother's judgement at all costs.

Emma was sitting at her desk at work eating her third bear claw for that morning, feeling totally disgusted with herself, but lacking the control to stop shoving the sugary fried dough into her face.

She was going over the calendar on her computer trying to schedule some time to take Henry to the Enchanted Forest as they had promised him. It wasn't camping weather yet, but he would love the castle and between Emma's schedule and Regina trying to get the town back into order she was looking for a weekend that would work for everyone. She rolled her eyes when she realized they wouldn't be able to get away for another 3 and a half weeks. Henry wouldn't be pleased, but there was nothing she could do about it. She pouted a little more than she should as she realized the rare open weekend was during a particularly inconvenient time for herself as a woman, she wasn't entirely sure how she would handle cramps and trolls at the same time. She chuckled at the idea of which would be more dangerous, her or the trolls.

Her smile faded, furrowing her brow and she pulled her lips down into a frown as her eyes counted back the weeks from their family vacation weekend to when it was during her cycle now, the cycle she should be currently affected by. Panic started to set in as she tried hard to remember the last time she cycled at all. Things had been so hectic and it was hard to remember. What she could remember was the face of her ex standing in her apartment with a shit eating grin on his face when she asked him if they had been intimate.

"No." she whispered.

Her entire body broke out in a thin sheen of sweat as her anxiety spiked. Things were going so well for her, this would be very bad. She and Gina had talked about more children, the queen didn't seem very receptive about the idea and although Emma was sorry she missed out on the first time stuff with her son, she agreed with Regina when she said their lives were fairly dangerous, and bringing an infant into this world may not be fair. That uncertainty was about a discussion where they planned a pregnancy, together. Chose a donor, together.

'And this Swan, is how you fuck up your happy ending.' her asshole voice sing songed in her head.

This. If this was what she now thought it was, was all wrong. It was NEAL'S. How exactly would the queen take that? Emma was properly frightened as she had no idea. Would the woman resent her? Would she resent the child? Would she consider it a daily reminder of the betrayal between them. Emma knew the brunette didn't blame her for what happened while she was cursed, but she did herself. She did deep down and she was frightened that this might be a deal breaker for her future. Her head reeled at all the times she has gotten sick, blaming it on one thing or another over the last few months. Her sudden overwhelming sensitivity to even the slightest magic. "Shit." She mumbled. She needed to know. Now.

Emma bolted from her chair and grabbed her jacket to run down to the corner store. The Just-Right Convenience store was a Mom n Pop shop, she knew she'd be recognized immediately, but she hoped that whoever it was in the pharmacy would be discrete because she couldn't wait to know one way or another to schedule an appointment with Whale.

'They really needed a second doctor in town.' She thought as she walked into the store. She stood in the isle where they had all of the feminine hygiene products displayed and she looked at the few different brands of tests they had in stock. Her eyes started to blur as she began to tear up at the prospect of having to tell her girlfriend she was pregnant. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and grabbed one of the boxes with a happy baby clapping on the front. She rolled her eyes and went to go pay for her purchase. She grabbed three Snickers bars and a bottle of coke and stood at the cash register to pay. Goldie was working that morning and she looked at what the savior was purchasing then looked up into her green eyes. The savior gave her an uncomfortable look so she silently rang her up. As the savior was leaving the absent minded blonde girl greeted her farewell with a hearty, "Good luck!" Emma could feel her magic brewing to the surface as her anxiety was at its limit. She gave the girl a glare over her shoulder but didn't turn around and marched out of the store.

Back at the station she dumped her sugary lunch onto the desk, took off her jacket and marched straight into the bathroom. She paced for the full 2 minutes the directions told her to wait before reading the result, however, the double lines surfaced immediately and she knew that second line wasn't going anywhere, no matter how long she waited.

She swung open the bathroom door and went back into her office. She pulled up the calendar on her computer and counted from the two weeks she was missing to then, and assuming she got pregnant in that first week, she was already 12 weeks pregnant. She stood abruptly and opened up the first Snickers and stuffed half of it in her mouth as she paced behind her desk. She went back and forth between, "I have to talk to Gina." To "How am I going to tell her?" with the occasional, "Will she leave me?"

Her asshole voice decided to speak up during this most inopportune moment, "Of course she will. If not now, as soon as she realizes who…"

"Fuck." She said out loud. ' _Neal_.' The question of 'could she have another baby by the man and not tell him' came out right away and the answer was definitive.

 _No_.

She'd have to tell him. Would he try and take this kid? He had no say about Henry, the boy had been well adopted by the time he even knew, but this one? He would bring it to the courts for certain. The very thought of losing this child to that man shook her violently and she knew at that moment, no matter how it came to be, she wanted the baby. She put her palm over her abdomen and started to cry. Her stress levels red lined and she felt like she was going to be sick and ran back for the bathroom just in the nick of time.

When she had calmed herself a little, and cleaned herself up a little more she came back out into the Sheriff's station's main room to find her mother waiting in her office.

"You!" Emma roared. "This is ALL YOUR FAULT!" she felt her magic spike and crackle off of her as she lost her temper at the unsuspecting brunette standing in the office.

"What did I do now?!" Snow sniped back at her adult daughter.

"I hope you're happy Snow. You've ruined my life!" Emma spat her mother's name as if it were a curse word.

Snow saw the lost look behind the anger in her daughter's familiar green eyes and dropped her attitude immediately. "What did I do?" she asked more softly.

"You couldn't leave well enough alone! You had to meddle and try and force me into the cookie cutter princess picture you have of me in your head!" She couldn't control her emotions in that moment and tears started streaming down her face. "I was HAPPY Mom! She loved me!" she broke down into gasping sobs and her mother ran over to her and caught her before she fell to her knees, the brunette lowered them both to the floor as she cradled her daughter who was near hysterical.

"I didn't do anything to Regina! I swear sweetheart!" Snow was confused, but knew she hadn't done anything to interfere with her daughter's love life.

"You cursed me!" Emma sobbed into her mother. Snow was silent as she held the blonde in her arms, for the first time since all of this happened she felt the depth of her daughter's connection to the Queen. "I—I'm sorry Emma." The brunette whispered as she held her daughter.

"She's going to leave me." Emma wrapped her arms around her mother desperately. "How could she stay? I'll have to tell him! I'll have to tell him and he'll take it away from me!"

"Emma honey, what happened? You're not making any sense." Snow stroked her daughter's long blonde hair.

"I'm pregnant! It is Neal's! She is going to leave! She'll resent the baby! She'll hate me for forcing this on her! And…and then… HE is going to try and take the baby from me! And it is ALL YOUR FAULT!" the blonde croaked out between sobs. Snow stiffened at the news her daughter just gave her, part of her was so happy for another grandchild, Henry was so perfect, but listening to her daughter, she wasn't as pleased.

"Why do you think Regina would leave you sweetheart?" Snow asked the million dollar question off the bat. Emma pulled back from her mother and green eyes searched green eyes, "How could she stay? I betrayed her, any child would be a daily reminder of that betrayal."

"Emma, you didn't betray her. She knows that." Snow argued for the queen who wasn't there to defend herself. "She knows it wasn't you. You're right, this is my fault. I'm sorry. She knows this, she has to know this."

"I don't think she even wants more kids Mom. How can I force her into this? She'll resent me, she'll resent the baby." Emma's voice sounded so small and lost, it had been so long since she had called the woman Mom, and at that moment her mother's heart broke for her.

"I think you should give her the opportunity to make up her own mind about it. I think she'll surprise you sweetheart. Regina is in love with you Emma. It took me a while to admit that this thing you two have isn't some elaborate ploy to get at me. What you have has nothing to do with me or my history with her. I think she loves you, deeply." Snow swallowed hard as that was something that was quite difficult for her to admit, even if she did feel as though it were the truth.

"She is my true love." Emma whispered. "I can't lose her. I can't. I'll literally die. She is the air that I breathe. I can't live without air mom." She shook her head as she rambled.

"Okay baby. I know." Snow pulled her daughter's head into her chest, rocking and gently soothing her. Snow realized in that moment how futile her attempts to circumvent fate had been and she felt the weight of the guilt she housed for causing her daughter this pain, it settled on her chest, pinning her down. "I think Regina will surprise you sweetheart. You need to talk to her before you make up your mind about anything."

"Make up my mind?" Emma pulled back from her mother's arms and wrapped a protective arm around her midsection as if shielding the unborn child from the conversation they were having. "About what?"

"No, no, I mean about Regina! I mean don't convince yourself one way or another about her reaction." Snow said defensively. The pixie haired woman's eyes pleaded with her daughter to understand she wouldn't ever recommend harming the child in any way.

Emma sat back on her heels and covered her face. Another wave of sobs escaped the blonde as she expressed the other massive fear. "Neal will take the baby away. He will find a way. He tried to take Henry, as soon as he finds out, he is going to want to be a part of this kid's life. That means my life, and how long do you think Regina is going to tolerate that man in our everyday lives for?"

Snow wrinkled up her nose and asked the obvious question, "Do you have to tell him?"

"If I don't, I'll think about it every day. The guilt, it would be too much." Emma said after she quieted herself down again. Snow nodded her head in understanding then held out her hand and took one of her daughter's hands. "Hey…" she said as she tugged at the blonde's fingers which grabbed Emma's attention. "Aside from all the down sides, how do you feel about it?"

"I don't know. I literally just found out about it." Emma mumbled.

"And?" the brunette prodded.

"And… and I want it, I guess." Emma admitted.

"Okay then." Snow said with a smile. "Everything else comes second to that sweetheart."

"I'm scared." Emma admitted quietly. "I-I'm not really a parent, and when I was I screwed up Henry so bad." She squeezed her eyes closed as fresh tears streamed over the apples of her cheeks.

"You're not alone." Snow reminded her and pulled her back into a comforting hug.

After the two had talked things out, Emma felt better. A little more confident about the future, still worried obviously, but she took her mother's advice and put her faith into the love she had for her future wife. Snow had left the station and Emma pulled out her phone to message Regina, she needed to tell the brunette and get a definitive way to feel one way or another. She shot off a text to the mayor.

 _Emma: Babe you busy?_

 _Crazy Hot Mayor: Not terribly. Is everything alright?_

 _Emma: Can we close up shop and call it a day?_

 _Crazy Hot Mayor: Emma…_

 _Crazy Hot Mayor: We can't close down the security of the town because you're a little frisky dear._

 _Emma: no we need to talk and I was hoping to before Henry gets out of school._

 _Crazy Hot Mayor: is everything alright?_

 _Emma: Meet me at home._

 _Emma: I love you Regina._

Emma turned off her phone and grabbed her jacket; she forwarded the station's line to her cellphone, and headed out the door towards the apartment she shared with her queen.

When Emma pulled up to the curb in front of her apartment she saw that she had beat her fiancée home and let out a sigh of relief. She had no idea how she was going to tell the woman this news and was pleased she had a few extra moments to get her own thoughts straight in her head. She trudged up the stairs and opened the front door to see her majesty the mayor standing in the kitchen. Regina turned to face the blonde with a look of concern on her face. Emma was clearly upset, she had her worry brow on and her eyes looked like she'd been crying.

"W-where's the Benz?" Emma stuttered as she took off her jacket at the door, trying not to sound as off her game as she felt.

Regina circled around the center island that separated the kitchen from the rest of the open floor concept room and went right up to the blonde. "I whooshed home. What is wrong darling?"

Emma's pained look struck terror in the brunette as the savior's eyes filled with tears once again. She crashed into Regina and held her as if she were the lifeline holding her to the ground. "I love you." The blonde mumbled into her fiancée's neck.

"You're scaring me honey, whatever is the matter?" the mayor tried once again to get the girl to talk but her girlfriend just shook her blonde head and held her tighter. As Emma held her she tried to memorize everything about the queen in her arms from her scent to the soft feel of her brown locks against Emma's cheek. Regina pulled away from the bear hug and her brown eyes darted back and forth between Emma's green orbs as if the answer to her question was written somewhere on her retinas.

"I—" Emma's voice choked as the words got caught in her throat.

"Emma, whatever it is honey you can tell me." The brunette softened her voice and tried to pull all of the concern and anxiety from her words as she could making them as soothing to the girl as possible.

"I'm pregnant." Emma said and held her breath expecting her entire world to crash down around her, her happy home, her wonderfully perfect life would just disappear if she so much as breathed.

Regina took the news in and processed it for a half a second before a wide smile painted its way across her lips. "We're having a baby?" she whispered as she covered her mouth with her hands, as if even saying the words aloud would make it untrue. The queen's entire face lit up and went to place her hand on the blonde's still mostly flat abdomen, but stopped as she saw the turmoil in her lover's eyes.

"You're…" the blonde stammered as she handled the shock of her girlfriend's reaction to the news and how it was the complete opposite of what she had expected.

"You do want this, right?" Regina asked straight away trying to interpret the blonde's emotions.

"I want _you_." Emma answered, the honesty of her answer brimmed tears to her eyes once again. Regina seemingly understanding all of Emma's fears pulled the girl into her as she whispered, "You have me. Always." Emma chuckled through her tears as she released part of her anxieties and allowed herself to feel happy for the first time that day over the unexpected news that will change their entire lives.

Regina pulled back from their embrace then dropped down to her knees before her knight. She placed her palm just under the slight swell of the blonde's navel. "Mine." She whispered and looked up into the green eyes of her lover watching her with intensity. "How far along are we?" the queen asked. The savior shrugged her shoulders, "I counted 12 weeks to when…" Emma's voice grew quiet, and Regina realized her upset had been more than the queen's reaction. Regina got back on her feet and captured the blonde's jaw with the palms of her hands. "None of that matters." The intensity of the queen's dark eyes shook the savior who replied, "How can you say that? Of course it matters. I'm going to have to tell him. And when I do, he'll either try and take," she covered her belly with the palm of her hand, "this from us, or he will want to be a part of it. Neither of those options seem like they don't matter."

Regina pulled her savior in and kissed her gently. "Let's worry about one thing at a time shall we?" Regina bit her bottom lip and curled the sides of her mouth up in a devilish smile, "We're going to have a baby!"

Emma grabbed her fiancée around her waist and lifted her up into her arms spinning her in the center of the room, relieved that she wouldn't be alone facing the uncertainty of what was to come.


	28. Chapter 28

They made their first appointment with Dr. Whale for an ultrasound. They wanted to make sure everything was okay before they told their son, or anyone else the news. Every chance she got, Regina was touching Emma's stomach. She started talking to the baby straight away, calling it their little peanut, telling it about it's mommies and how they loved it already, much to Emma's pleasure. Regina had taken the lead on making adjustments to their home layout with Marco as well, the spare room they had intended on making into office space was suddenly needed as a nursery so with some minor changes they were able to add an office down stairs off the main living room that accommodated both women's needs adequately. They were ready to break ground and the last minute adjustments hadn't delayed their schedule in the least.

Emma of course was still concerned about telling Neal about the unexpected baby, but had agreed to not do anything until they knew everything was okay. The day of the ultrasound came and Regina was extra fidgety. She always got that way when she was nervous.

"What is it babe?" Emma asked as she watched Regina pace in the waiting room.

Regina was pulling at her nails as she paced. "What if portal hopping has affected peanut? I mean you always get so sick afterwards!" Emma stood and went to comfort the brunette. It was something she herself had been worried about, but recently the trips they were making were getting less and less stressful on her body, or at very least her body was getting used to the magical expenditure and evening out how it made her feel afterward. "First, that's what we are here to find out, and second, portal hopping has gotten much easier for me lately, you know that."

"Yeah but…" Regina worried her brow and looked up into Emma's green eyes.

"Yeah but let's not worry about it until there is something to worry about okay?" Emma reassured her.

The nurse called out "Sheriff Swan?" and with a wide smile Emma whispered, "Let's go see our peanut."

She towed her girlfriend behind her as she walked confidently back into the ultrasound room. They listened to the nurse's instruction and then watched as the woman left them alone. Regina wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, she felt very out of her element and it showed across her face. Emma stripped down her lower half, laid down on the table and covered herself with the paper sheet then held out her hand for Regina to join her by her side.

Regina leaned down as she had done hundreds of times since she found out about the baby and spoke directly to it. "We're just going to have a peek at you ok peanut? It won't hurt Mommy promises." She did what she always does when she speaks to the baby and covers her hand over Emma's little protruding tummy in a way to sooth the unborn child with her touch. This was the part Regina had missed out on with Henry and she was so excited, and grateful, she was given an opportunity to experience it with their second child. She had started to read about everything pregnancy, although in the week since they found out it hadn't been able to get through as much of the material as she would have liked. She felt she was behind schedule and a little unprepared for this ultrasound which should have happened in week 8 not week 13. Regina had completely taken over Emma's diet, and although Emma complained about it, she let the brunette take point, knowing it was a battle she wouldn't win anyway. Emma's first experience had been something she had done alone. Scared and alone and in jail. This time, Regina made all the difference and she wasn't about to complain over the brunette's motherly fussing. She loved not only the attention but also watching her soon to be wife buzz around and fuss over every detail.

Dr. Whale entered the room and quietly closed the door behind him. He and the queen had an arduous relationship at the best of times, but he also knew that this was a professional visit so he kept his normal snide remarks to himself and directed his focus on the savior and his job. He was pleased when the queen seemingly had also reigned in her normal disdain for the man in favor of professionalism. He looked over Emma's chart and asked her a few questions about the pregnancy and how far along she suspected she was, jotting down notes as the blonde answered his inquiries. He then put aside the clipboard and clapped his hands together, "Now let's take a look shall we?" he apologized as he spread the cool gel on Emma's belly then spread it around just above her pubic bone watching the monitor and pressing the wand into the savior's flesh. "Are we finding out the sex of the baby?" he asked idly.

"No." Regina said as Emma replied, "Yes."

They looked at each other then back at Whale and Regina said, "Yes." At the same time Emma said "No." Regina rolled her eyes. "Not yet." She answered for them. She patted Emma on the arm and quietly whispered, "We'll discuss it; we've got plenty of time."

Dr. Whale hummed as he pressed into Emma's abdomen. Regina had a look of panic cross her face, "Hm? Hm what? Hmm bad?" Whale just looked at her with a raised eyebrow then flipped the speaker on. The entire room filled with the rapid heartbeat of their child.

Regina's face drained of the worry she had been feeling up until that moment and tears surfaced in her eyes. She pulled Emma's hand up to her mouth and kissed the back. "That's our peanut." She whispered. Emma's face held all of the wonderment and relief Regina's had and a huge smile crossed her face as they giggled at the sound of their child. For the first time since she found out about the baby, Emma had been truly honestly happy, right at that moment. The joy in her fiancée's face just made the whole thing so much more for her. The first time she had done this had been a truly awful experience. Other than the fact she had been in prison, she knew she wasn't keeping the kid so she didn't want to know any of the details, let alone hear the baby's heartbeat.

"Everything looks good ladies, however…" Whale was cut off before he could finish his statement by Regina of course who cut in. "However what? What is wrong?" The queen had been expecting bad news, nothing in her life was ever good for long.

"If you'll allow me to finish your majesty…" he pooled his patience and Emma put her free hand over Regina's to calm her. "Yes well, get on with it Doctor." She said flippantly not admitting to jumping the gun in the slightest.

"Are you sure about the dates?" He asked Emma who shook her head no.

"Alright then." He said looking again at the fetus and taking measurements. "It appears you are closer to 11 weeks than the 13 you think you are, but that could mean the fetus is underdeveloped or, you are just mistaken about the timing."

"We are concerned about using magic and portal jumping, would that affect the baby's development?" Whale knit his brows together and looked worriedly at Regina. "Honestly I'm uncertain. As you know Regina, the realm I'm from has no magic, I would think you'd be better versed in such things than I."

Regina looked at the blonde with a worried brow. "I don't know." She said at almost a whisper, then steeled her resolve and continued, "No more magic for you. No whooshing, no portals not even a conjuring spell until we know peanut is okay." She said with finality. Emma saw the seriousness of her girlfriend and nodded in agreement.

"Alright well there are some tests we can do to make sure the development is on schedule, they are of course voluntary…" Whale started.

"We're doing them." Both women said in unison.

"Alright then, that is it for today. Congratulations ladies." He said with a smile that didn't quite make it to his eyes and turned to leave the room. Regina kissed Emma's blonde head and whispered, "Get dressed, I'll be right back." And left the room. She left so quickly Emma didn't have a chance to question the brunette about where she was going.

Regina caught up with Whale in the hall. "Whale, when you do the prenatal tests," she handed him a vial of blood from Neal Cassidy. "Test paternity against this please." He took the vial and nodded, his eyes held the question he didn't get a response to as the queen turned from him and walked back to her fiancée.

When Regina got back into the room Emma was dressed once more and laying on the table. A nurse had joined the blonde and was getting a syringe ready to remove fluid from her womb. Emma's eyes were wide as saucers as she watched the nurse prepare the rather long needle.

"Oh thank god you're back! This woman thinks she is going to stick that inside of me!" Emma exclaimed. Regina strutted over to the blonde and put her hands on either side of her head and kissed her paying no mind to the nurse who was now staring at the evil queen and the savior making out in exam room 2. "You got this my knight." Regina said as she broke her embrace.

"Yeah but I'm pretty sure that needle is longer than I am thick!" Emma whined. "They didn't do this with Henry!" she complained more. "What if she skewers our peanut?" a last ditch effort to cover her fear of needles.

"Just look at me, don't worry about what she is doing my love." Regina soothed the blonde hair from her lovers face. "You want to tell Henry tonight?" she asked trying to distract the blonde as the nurse came closer with the needle.

"Yeah I think he is going to be so ha… OW! Son of a bitch!" Emma exclaimed. "Oh ew! That feels so weird!"

"Don't look darling, it'll be over soon." Regina ran her thumbs over Emma's temples holding her gaze. Emma's emotions suddenly bubbled to the surface and she couldn't help the tears that spilled over and ran down into her hairline. "What's wrong?" Regina panicked and looked back at the nurse who had been clearly finished for at least a moment then looked back into her lover's eyes. "What?" Regina worried her brow.

"I'm just so glad you're here." Emma lost her composure and the nurse left the women alone.

"Of course darling. I wouldn't be anywhere else." Regina reassured her knight as she scooped her up into her arms, resting her blonde head against her chest. She kissed Emma on her forehead and whispered, "Mine."

Emma mumbled into the queen's bosom, "I want ice cream." And Regina chuckled. "Anything you want baby girl." Emma pulled back and looked up at her queen with a raised eyebrow, "Anything?" The devilish smirk the blonde had was all too familiar to the queen, she knew they were no longer talking about food, but agreed nonetheless with her initial statement and nodded. "Anything."

Henry had taken to walking himself home from school, now that they lived within a few blocks and his mother's had let him gain some independence, he was a teenager now. So as a part of his newly found freedom he got to walk with a couple of his friends home from school. When he finally left Ava and Nick and crossed the street towards the apartment his mother's had been renting, it was nearly 5:00 and he knew he had been running later than his adoptive mother would have preferred. He steeled himself for the scolding he knew was coming his way and entered the apartment.

Both of his mothers were in the kitchen when he opened the door and entered their home, his birth mother was sitting up on top of the counter drinking a large glass of water while his adoptive mother was standing in front of the stove stirring what smelled like marinara sauce. "Sorry I'm late, I got caught up with Nick about–" He started but stopped as he realized neither woman was angry, nor paying attention to his excuse. Both of them were looking at each other with silly smiles across their faces. He had gotten used to seeing both of his mom's happy as of late, but this giddiness was practically palatable, and out of the ordinary.

"Hey kid! How was school?" His Ma was smiling so wide her cheeks were rosy red. She hopped down off the counter and whispered something to his adoptive mother before laughing and walking over to him. She pushed her fingers through his hair, something both of his mothers did in very different ways. Emma messed his hair up, Regina straightened it out. He didn't mind either way, he secretly loved the attention so in both cases he didn't fuss. She leaned into him and kissed him on his head, lingering much longer than necessary, something she usually only did when she hadn't seen him in a really, really long time, or there was something wrong and their lives were about to change in huge unimaginable ways. Since he saw her just that morning, he guessed at the second reason was the correct one. However he pulled back after her not so quick embrace and studied her as she walked back to his adopted mother in the kitchen who consequently perked up and called out to him. "Henry? Go wash up darling supper is almost ready. Have you got much homework sweetheart?" He eyed his adoptive mother suspiciously as well. Not only had she not scolded him for being 45 minutes late, she didn't seem to have noticed. She had the same happy glow his birth mother had. He decided to go and do as he was told, for now, but when he got back, answers would be had.

As soon as Henry tromped back into the back hall way Regina slid her hands over her lover's tummy and bent down to kiss their baby. "I think you're just using me to love the peanut!" Emma mock pouted. "Oh stop it Savior, I've got love enough for you too." Regina stood up and open mouth kissed her knight, still leaving a protective hand over their baby.

"See? Your mouth maybe kissing me, but you're thinking about the peanut. I can practically hear you loving it." Emma complained.

Regina smiled into the kiss at her lover's ridiculousness. She shook her head and turned away from the blonde back to the sauce which was completely done, she just needed a distraction from kissing the savior otherwise she wouldn't want to stop.

Henry came back into the kitchen and took out the dinner plates without being told and set the table for his family. The small kitchen table was the perfect size for the kitchenette that was in the apartment, but seemed way too small for a family of 3. He missed the manor. He cleared his throat before asking, "So how is the house coming?"

His birth mother's eyes lit up, "Fantastic! We are breaking ground this weekend! The foundation will be poured and everything by the end of next week."

He clapped his hand, "Finally!" he said with a huff. "Not that I don't love the freedoms of living in town," speaking of his walking distance to pretty much everywhere he loved to go. "But I can't wait to move."

"Me too." Emma agreed. "I've actually got a surprise for the two of you." She added casually. Regina slowed her walk over to the table carrying her son's plate full of spaghetti and meatballs. "Oh?" the worried look in the dark chocolate eyes made Emma smirk. "Yeah." The blonde said cryptically.

Regina filled both her and her lover's plates then carried them over as well before raising an eyebrow at the blonde. "Do tell dear." She goaded.

"Well I've worked on a little side project with Marco." Henry's face shared the exact same puzzled look as Regina and it made Emma chuckle.

"Tell us!" her son demanded.

"I'm building you two a stable, nothing extravagant, but large enough to house a couple of horses." Emma looked into Regina's surprised eyes as she revealed her secret and the woman's look made all the planning worth it.

"Mom!? That is awesome!" Her son exclaimed with excitement.

"Is it large enough for three horses?" the brunette asked with a knowing look.

"Oh babe you know the only horse I'll ever ride's name is Harley Davidson." Emma said flippantly. Before Regina could get her point across their son piped up, "Don't think buying me a pony is going to make me want a little brother any less." He punctuated his point by stuffing half a meatball in his mouth.

"What about a sister?" Emma said looking at Regina, suddenly realizing why they would eventually need _three_ horses.

Henry crinkled his nose in disgust. "First, I think she'd be upset when people referred to us as 'The Mills Brothers' and second, she'd be pretty pissed you guys named her Chuck."

Regina scoffed at her son, "Here let me tell you what is wrong with that…" she started.

"It'll be 'The Swan-Mills Brothers' first of all…" Emma interjected.

"And I'm not naming the peanut Chuck, whether it be a girl OR a boy." Regina said absentmindedly.

Realization on what she said crossed the brunette's features and Henry scrutinized her words. Emma covered her lover's hand and chuckled getting her son's attention. "I could have a girl, just prepare yourself, you've got a 50-50 chance."

"Are we really talking about this?" the boy asked his blonde mother.

"We kind of have to." She said with a sly smile.

"Are you… I mean, already, like right now?" Henry looked at his adoptive mother for confirmation. Her brunette head nodded with a wide smile confirming his inquiry. "Which of you—?" the boy's shock unable to allow him to finish his sentence. "Emma is pregnant." Regina answered, not adding that she would be unable to carry a child to term which is why she had adopted him in the first place.

"How?" the boy looked more confused than the excited they had anticipated him being.

Emma's stomach flipped and turned into knots as she spoke his father's name in an attempt to explain, "Neal… uh…" she felt the excess saliva building in her mouth, a tell-tale of her getting sick at any moment and excused herself from the table and ran back into the bathroom.

"So he is going to be my _real_ brother?" Henry asked his adoptive mother.

"Your mother is giving birth to him dear, of course he will be your real brother." She looked perplexed at the boy's assessment of the situation. "Or sister." She added reminding him that it could equally be a girl.

"Yeah, but we'll have the same father as well." He said with a wide smile.

She knew Neal wasn't the only contender and hadn't been expecting her girlfriend to divulge this information to their son so soon. "Even if Mr. Cassidy wasn't your brother's biological father, he would still be your real brother." She clarified in hopes that the boy wouldn't think less of his sibling if it turned out to be Killian Jones' parentage.

"It's different though, mom. We will have the same blood." He replied unwittingly hurting the woman before him.

"Am I less of your mother than Emma?" she asked harshly.

"No." his cheeks reddened as he realized what he had said to his adoptive mother.

"Are you sure? Because we don't have any blood in common. I love you just as much if I had carried you myself. I feel like your mother Henry." She knew she was being unfair and that the boy hadn't meant to hurt her, but he still had.

"I'm sure." He said contrite. "I'm sorry mom, I didn't think it through. You are and always will be my Mommy." Pulling out a term he'd used when he was much, much younger. "I'm just happy our family is getting bigger."

"I am too darling." She said softening the features of her face as she thought about their future.


	29. Chapter 29

Several days had passed since Emma had her first ultrasound and Regina was getting concerned that the results were not back yet regarding paternity. She worried her lip and paced in the tv room upstairs as if the act of holding her cell phone would cause the thing to ring and give her the information she desired. Emma came up the stairs with a wide smile on her face. "What are you doing babe?"

Regina was lost in her own thoughts, worry was evident across her face and Emma snapped her fingers to catch the queen's attention. Regina looked up and hummed. "You're wearing a rut into the carpet. What is going on?" Regina waved the blonde off and shook her head, "Nothing dear." Was the answer she got but Emma knew better. Instead of pushing the queen Emma decided to discuss what she had sought the woman out for instead.

"So, I think, now that Henry knows, we should tell Neal." Emma said sadly.

Regina stiffened her stance and stopped her pacing mid stride. "I think we should wait." Regina said guardedly.

"It won't matter how soon or how late he knows, it is going to totally blow no matter what. I'd prefer to know what he intends to do about it sooner rather than later." Emma replied.

Regina worried her lip once more. She knew Mr. Cassidy wasn't the only option for daddy of the year, and she didn't want the baby being mentioned to that man unless they absolutely had no other choice but to tell him. She closed her eyes as the thought of Neal not being the father crossed her mind. For simply selfish reasons she had hoped he wasn't, Hook would be easier to deal with, but on the other hand Emma… She knew the woman felt awful about what happened with Neal, if she knew about Hook too, it could very well send her love into a downward spiral of self-loathing and despair. Regina also worried about how Emma would take the fact that Regina already knew about Hook and didn't say anything. She hated keeping things from the woman but honestly felt it was for her own good. Regina didn't think of it as something the blonde had actually done, but Emma did. Always holding herself to impossible standards.

Just then she realized the blonde had asked her a question she hadn't heard. "I'm sorry darling?" asking her to repeat herself casually.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked. She knew her love was battling some inner struggle and had hoped the brunette could open up and talk to her about it. Regina nodded and smiled her politician smile and Emma knew something was up. She assumed this was just a bad subject and it was, Emma just wanted to get it over with. "You don't have to be there when I call him if you don't want to, but I'm going to tell him today." Emma slid the lock on her phone to check the notification her phone had buzzed at her earlier. Regina assumed the blonde meant to notify the man right then and there and snatched the phone from the woman's hands. The shock on the savior's face was stark as she exclaimed her lover's name. "I must insist we wait dear." Regina's eyes plead the blonde for understanding her position and not demanding an explanation.

Of course that wasn't Emma's way.

"I didn't mean right this second Regina, but why are you—I mean I don't understand." Confusion filled her forest orbs. "I have to tell him. I know he is a—" She had been trying her hardest to not label the man who was to be both of her children's father as anything negative and so she stopped herself from calling him any number of names he rightfully deserved. "and how he handled everything was really shitty—but we are better than that."

"I know we do, and we will, just—" Regina gripped her own cellphone in her hand which allowed the anger of not knowing one way or another to show through just a little to the blonde.

"What is it babe? You know it doesn't matter right?" She reached over and took her cell phone back from the brunette and pulled Regina's hand over and rested it on top of the swell of her tummy. "He is still your peanut. No matter if Neal knows or not."

Regina pulled in her lip and bit down as her forehead worried into tightly knit ridges. "I know." She replied softly.

"Okay then, what is it?" Emma pushed and Regina swallowed hard against the worry she felt. Just as Regina opened her mouth to tell Emma the truth her cell phone rang in her hand. Saved by the bell as it were. She saw it was the hospital and answered it straight away, turning away from the blonde who stood before her.

"This is she. Yes. Oh. Alright." Regina stepped away from Emma and was silent for over a minute before she concluded and disconnected her call, however she didn't turn around. She took in a deep ragged breath and let it out calming her nerves. She turned around and looked at the perplexed look in her lover's eyes. "Emma, come sit with me." She held out her hand to the blonde who raised an eyebrow. "That was the hospital. Something is wrong with him isn't there?" Emma demanded not taking the woman's offered hand, not moving a muscle towards their family couch.

"It was, and he is fine." Regina said reassuringly still holding her hand out to the stubborn blonde. Emma had her worry brow on and took her lover's hand, allowing herself to be led to sit. "If peanut is fine then, what is it Regina, you are really freaking me out."

"The reason I wanted to wait before we endured the wrath of Mr. Cassidy, is because there was a chance, peanut wasn't his."

"Of course he's—" Emma read Regina's face like a book and stopped mid-sentence. "Wait what?" she asked quietly.

"I asked Whale to run a DNA test on the peanut against the blood we had left over from Mr. Cassidy's," she tilted her head back and forth considering her word options, "contribution, to unlocking his father's blood magic lock."

"Why would you do that Regina?" Emma's words were accusatory as her confusion fueled her default emotion which was anger.

"Neal is not peanut's father." Regina said definitively, not answering the blonde's direct question.

"What?" Emma stood and started to pace and bit at her thumb nail. She stopped suddenly and looked down at the brunette who had simply allowed her to work the logistics out for herself as opposed to saying the words aloud. "What? Did you know? I mean, that there was more than Neal? Like for sure?"

Regina closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip before slowly composing herself to look up at her love.

"Who was it?!" Emma exploded yelling the question at the brunette as if it had been something Regina had done to her instead of the other way around. "You lied to me!" Emma felt conflicting emotions, both betrayal and shame at this news.

"I'm sorry Emma." Regina's fears were being realized as the blonde paced seething with emotion. Emma stopped her anxious pacing once more to pose the question to her love again. "Who?" she demanded

"Hook." Regina answered.

Emmas eyes bulged, "My GOD how long have you known?! Is this part of your little fucking understanding?!"

"Yes, honestly."

Emma scoffed at the woman's use of _honesty_ when she'd been lying to her every day for months. "He came here looking for you and I made it clear under no uncertain terms to whom you belong." She lifted her head regally.

Emma's face crumbled and the anger she had just been exuding emptied from her form. "How can you still want me?"

Regina stood quickly to embrace her love, but Emma pulled from her. "No!" she yelled. "Don't touch me!"

Regina's heart panged in her chest as the blonde wounded her deeply, thinking keeping this secret from her had been a betrayal they couldn't come back from, the depth of the pain Regina felt was painted across her face.

"I fucked Hook. Who else… What else did I do?" Emma felt the need to clarify her aversion to being comforted by her lover. Regina swallowed visibly as a tear slipped down her cheek. "You. Did nothing." Emma's pregnancy hormones got the best of her and she exploded once more. "How can you even say that?! I'm fucking disgusting!" She then remembered her anger, "You lied to me!"

"I didn't lie, I just didn't tell you something I thought would hurt you." Regina defended her actions to the blonde the best she could.

"Don't pull that shit with me Regina, you know as well as I do, you _lied_. What else have you lied about? What else aren't you telling me? What else have I done because of this stupid curse?" Emma lost her composure and broke down into weeping sobs on the floor. Regina moved over to her love to try and bring her a little comfort, but Emma shrugged her shoulder off. "We said Honesty. Always, Regina."

"Emma, baby," Regina's desperation was thick in her strained voice. "I knew you would just blame yourself for this, doing exactly what you are doing right now. I don't blame you! I knew it wasn't you, this wasn't something you did to me, or to us. It was something that happened. Something beyond your control! I didn't want to burden you with this if I didn't have to and at the time, there was no good reason to tell you!"

"And after you found out about the pea? Why didn't you tell me?" Emma shouted.

"Because I knew if it was Neal's I wouldn't have to!" she snapped back. Her features softened as she regretted her tone instantly. "I—" Regina tried to further explain herself but Emma put up a hand that told her to save the excuses.

"So you never would have told me?" Emma's eyes were fixed to the ground as she spoke.

"No."

"And you're just okay with that?!" Emma couldn't help feeling a little betrayed.

"Yes." Regina stood her ground.

"How can you be okay with that? I don't know if I'm okay with that! Don't decide what I should know! That is not for you to decide! We are in this together!" Emma snapped angrily.

"Emma!" Regina said exasperated, "Are you really telling me that if you knew something that would hurt me to know, and it wasn't _essential_ that I know about it that you wouldn't keep it to yourself?! To spare my feelings?!"

Emma instantly thought back to her son invoking the evil queen and calling his father a pedophile, threatening him in the most nasty ways possible. Not only had she not told Regina about it, but she had sworn their son to secrecy. She knew in no uncertain terms Regina would immediately consider herself a bad parent, because their son had learned how to manipulate and harm someone with the precision and finesse of the Evil Queen herself. She would think she had somehow damaged their child. Emma knew the boy wasn't damaged by Regina's nature, and it had been an effective tool at the time. She also knew the boy would never just whip out the evil queen on a whim. He was protecting his family, defending his mother's. So she had kept it from her, to spare her the heartache she would no doubt inflict upon herself.

Just as Emma was doing right now. Regina didn't consider Emma's cursed actions a betrayal, but Emma did and Regina just wanted to spare her love the knowledge of how far her cursed-self had fallen. Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, you're right."

"I know dear." Regina pouted a little as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry." Emma was contrite as she looked down and kicked the carpet a little with her big toe.

"Me too." Regina said shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"How… I mean…" Emma searched for the right way to phrase the question that came to mind. She didn't want to call the woman a murderer, not after just insisting she had been a liar, but couldn't come up with an easy way to ask. "How did you not kill Hook when you found out?" She finally said, hoping the brunette would take the term 'kill' in a way to mean anything other than the 'murder' she had honestly intended it to mean. Regina lifted a curious eyebrow towards her lover hoping she would continue to explain her meaning. "I mean I was upset about Neal, but you were furious when we found out. I remember seeing it in your eyes Regina. How did you get to your 'understanding' with that pirate?"

"Like I said," her voice softened as she spoke to the savior. "He came over here while you were in New York. He was surprised when I told him you were not in control of your actions. I believe he actually cared for you, perhaps even loved you. The hope you had returned his affections had blinded him. That is not something I believe about the spawn of the Dark One." her disdain she held for the man made crystal clear. "He _knew_. I could see it in his face when you asked him if the two of you had been… intimate." Regina swallowed visibly. "He knew and didn't care, he wanted his picture perfect family and was more than happy having you be that empty shell of a woman rather than not having you at all."

"It hurt Killian?" Emma's brow knit up as her heart clenched in her chest. "When he found out it wasn't real?"

Regina nodded. "I think this curse played with more than just our hearts." Regina flicked her finger between herself and the blonde.

"Is that why he got bumped to the front of the portal line?" Regina nodded sadly in reply.

"Holy fuck!" Emma exclaimed. "How are we going to tell him? I mean we are both going to have to go! I—" a single tear escaped from the blondes green eyes. "I don't know if I can look at him, how can I face him?"

"He and I have history, and an understanding. I'll handle it." Regina said softly.

"Holy fuck!" Emma exclaimed again.

"Miss Swan stop exposing my peanut to your foul language if you don't mind! You'll scar our child in utero!" Regina scolded as she bent down and placed her cheek on the blonde's belly whispering soft soothing love to the baby inside.

"No I mean, what if Hook isn't the father?" Emma pulled away and started to pace again, worrying her brow and biting her nail. "God Regina! Seriously! I need to like get myself tested and stuff! Oh my GOD!" Emma exclaimed as her eyes bulged. "What if I gave you something!?" Thick tears started to fall from the blonde's eyes once more and Regina held a steady grip on the woman's shoulders. "You may certainly get tested, Emma, but the Enchanted Forest really didn't have a lot of venereal diseases. Fleas, yes…" she added with a smirk trying to lighten their very serious talk.

"Yeah but Hook though…" Emma scrunched up her nose when she thought of the line of bar wenches that followed that man around.

"I'm pretty sure the worst thing you caught was our peanut dear." Emma's face crumpled once more as she was imagining how her behavior had changed their lives. Regina pulled the girl into her knowing all too well the blonde was blaming herself.

"How can you stay with me?" she sobbed into the queen's shoulder.

"Emma!" The queen's tone firmed up, as if this were the last time she would be saying this to the blonde so the sheriff would learn well and listen up. "First of all I'm in love with you, you idiot! Second of all it wasn't you! It wasn't something you did on a whim or even something you did against us. It was not a betrayal. You didn't CHEAT on me Emma! That curse took away a fundamental piece of who you were. Of who you ARE." Regina smiled proudly back at the blonde before her. "We are an essential piece of who you are Emma. Our love, and without that you—"

"Are a total whore bag?" Emma interrupted with a self-deprecating half smile.

"No. You are not you. Stop this right this instant." The queen demanded. "I couldn't be happier with you. Our family is getting bigger, you are going to be my wife! We are going to have a home and a stable," She placed her hands protectively over their child. "And I'm actually really, really," she closed her eyes, pausing for dramatic effect. "Really," looking the blonde straight in the eye, "Happy the pea isn't Mr. Cassidy's." The corner of Emma's mouth lifted in a slight smile as she agreed with her queen's assessment of the situation. A huge burden had been lifted from her. She had been really concerned about the legal fallout and the stress that would put on her family. Regina guided them back and laid down on the couch where she could pull Emma into her resting her blonde head on Regina's shoulder. "You are my entire world Emma Swan. I want you. I want our children. I want our future."

Knowing the queen was being completely serious at that moment Emma lifted her head up and looked her in the eyes, "You are my future." She replied as she booped her queen gently on the nose before snuggling back down into domestic bliss.

Snow had been humming around how to tell her daughter she and her husband would be moving back to the Enchanted Forest. With Emma and Regina's nuptials fast approaching and her daughter's fragile state being what it was, she hadn't wanted to cause any more undue stress for her blonde daughter. So she kept putting it off. Charming finally put his foot down and told her now or never, he felt as though he were lying to their daughter and wouldn't continue on with the status quo.

"Tell her, or I will." He said firmly.

"David!" Snow whined.

His look was that of a man who couldn't be swayed and she knew all too well that was the case. "Fine, but not until after the wedding!" she countered his ultimatum.

"Deal." He agreed, only because the event of Storybrooke was happening within the month. He had had serious doubts about if he even wanted to return to the Enchanted Forest, but his wife, she was adamant that they return to rule her father's kingdom.


	30. Chapter 30

Emma had been busy planning this day for months, it wasn't to be a big ceremony, just some close friends and family. Ruby and Belle had come back from the Enchanted Forest special for the big day, Katherine and Frederick had also attended. Of course Emma's parents and Henry; the 12 dwarves pestered Regina until she relented and allowed them to attend as well. Granny, as Emma had envisioned, had presided over the nuptials, in pure Granny fashion, it didn't matter though because Emma couldn't take her eyes off of her bride to be. The queen was flawless, and had chosen her outfit to be less traditional and more comfortable. It was the beginning of April and the day they had chosen turned out to be warmer than it had been through the end of March, although it was still chilly as they were still in Maine, it was bright and sunny and Emma was pleased with the calm weather. Regina wore a long white crushed velvet jacket that buttoned up three buttons over her midsection, covering an opal corset that showcased her ample assets. Large off-white leather lapels adorned with a white lily corsage. She wore her hair up off of her neck, traces of baby's breath woven into her dark locks with just a few strands curled to perfection to frame her face. White leather thigh high boots that laced all the way up covered her off white leather pants. It wasn't the blushing bride gown she wore to her first wedding, it was however, certainly more "her" and Emma thought she was stunning.

Emma had chosen a dress for the occasion, which surprised everyone, including herself. It had a high waist band and a flowing sheer white bottom that didn't exactly hide her swelling tummy, but was comfortable despite it. At 5 months into her term her breasts had grown quite large and they had to make what was originally a strapless dress into a hearty, supported strapped version. The alteration saddened Emma, but was unavoidable, the girls were large and in charge and needed the additional support. The sheer snow white material that made up the bottom of the dress came down several inches above her ankles and instead of the heels she had intended, she altered the plan to include a matching set of white flat slipper style shoes. Her feet were starting to swell with extended standing and she just accepted the adjustments to her original plan as part of life. Emma wore her hair down, cascading blonde curls that covered her shoulders and framed her face beautifully.

David took great pleasure in walking his daughter down the aisle, even if they had been outdoors and there was no aisle to speak of, walking with his little girl, arm in arm, to give her away to her bride to be had been a precious experience for him and he treasured it. He leaned in and kissed his daughter when they finally made it to where Regina and Granny had been waiting for them. He surprised his future daughter in law by hugging her fiercely in an unexpected show of acceptance as his joy over the occasion got the better of him. Regina laughed in surprise and Granny cleared her throat indicating she was ready to begin. He let go of the brunette and kissed his daughter once more then went to go stand by his wife and grandson, quickly wiping the tear that had escaped from his eye.

Granny began the ceremony with an official address to the witnesses the couple had included in the special occasion.

"It is written that the greatest of all things—the most wonderful experience in all the realms—is love. Regina and Emma, into your lives has entered a deep and nurturing love, and you have asked us here to help you celebrate and affirm that love. I am humbled and blessed you have chosen me to unite you. In our realm it is known that true love conquers all, and that has never been more true than in your love story.

Emma and Regina, you have honored us by inviting us to witness your commitment to each other, may your love grow sure and strong and true in the days and years of your shared life together."

Emma held tightly to Regina's hands as she smiled wide, her dimples dug deeply into her cheeks. The joy in her heart couldn't be contained as her magic started to pool around her feet, a light translucent violet cloud snaked its way up the blonde's legs and Regina squeezed the blonde's pale hands tighter as she felt her own magic respond to the saviors.

"You seem to be smoking kid." Granny had paused her speech and whispered to the blonde. Regina laughed right out loud and a tear of joy spilled over the apple of her cheek. Emma nodded at Granny and gave her permission to continue.

"I will now read an excerpt from E.E. Cummings, something from Emma's realm. A poem called 'I carry your heart'."

Granny cleared her throat and held the notes she had transcribed out on an index card mid arms length, to better see it.

"I carry your heart with me

(I carry it in my heart)

I am never without it

(Anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)

I fear no fate

(for you are my fate, my sweet)

I want no world

(for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it is you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart."

Snow was now crying at this point watching her daughter be wed, the poetry had moved her. Henry put his arm around his gran's shoulders to comfort her. Granny then asked for the rings, and Regina pulled out the two bands from her jacket pocket and handed Emma hers and held on to the one that belonged to the blonde. "The couple has written their own vows," she announced to the witnesses. She turned to Regina and bowed her head in reverence, "Your majesty." Indicating for Regina to start.

Regina couldn't stop smiling, her cheeks were starting to ache and she fiddled the ring between her fingers as she tried to compose herself for her prepared speech.

"Emma dear… You have helped me fight my demons. I feel stronger in your presence and able to take on life, knowing you are always in my corner, you always have my back. I have never felt more powerful or more secure than by your side.

You have taught me so much about who I am, and who I want to be. I trust in your love, not because it is said true love is infallible, but because I trust in you Emma Swan. You are my white knight, my happy beginning, and everything I never knew I wanted. You have completed me in ways I never thought possible. You've given me so much. A family," she looks over at their handsome son and coverd their unborn child with the palm of her hand, "a home, forgiveness, salvation and redemption, and a second chance at true happiness.

I vow to you now before our friends and family, to be by your side, to fight for you every day, to care for you and love you for as long as I breathe. You are the light in the darkness of my heart and I belong to you." She took Emma's left hand and lifted it to her lips, sliding the ring that bound them onto Emma's slender ring finger.

Emma almost lost her composure completely and took a moment before she spoke her own vows. "Wow… Regina… How can I even follow that? I knew I should have gone first. Alright well…" she gripped the brunette's slim hands and looked right into the dark pools of Regina's eyes as she began to speak, pouring her heart out for all to see.

"It seems like a lifetime ago that I met you and thought to myself, 'She is amazing.' We have certainly gone through many ups and downs since then, but that thought, no matter what was going on between us, has never changed. I am so very lucky to have you as my soul mate. As you often say, 'Who knew?'

I did. I knew. I knew the moment I looked into your deep brown eyes. I knew when our son brought me back to Storybrooke. What he did was bring me home. That is what you are for me Regina Mills, my home. You are everything I have always yearned for, and so much more than I ever dreamed possible.

My love, you have changed my life. You have taught me how to love with abandon and to take the risk of vulnerability.

I love you. All of you. Not only for who and what you are, but for who and what I am when I'm with you. You've seen what no one else has ever bothered to look for in me. It humbles me that you've made the effort to get past my defenses and fears to see the real me. You see me, my queen, and still want to be with me.

You have been my companion on adventures and a confidant for my soul. You have challenged me to see greatness in myself and have celebrated my successes—big and small.

You have inspired me to be a better, more generous and loving me and have believed in me when I have not believed in myself.

I promise to share my life openly with you;

To cherish your uniqueness;

To honor your spirit;

To protect you as long as I live, my queen.

With patience and compassion, I promise to support you through the changes and challenges of our lives, together.

I promise to be faithful and honest, and to stand by your side, as we grow old together. I am yours, forever more."

Emma slid Regina's wedding band over her ring finger clicking it into place next to her engagement ring. There wasn't a dry eye that surrounded them, even Leroy shed a single grumpy tear at the savior's speech. Granny swiped under her glasses and cleared her throat before concluding the rites. "Above you are the stars. Below you the stones. As time does pass." She looks directly at Regina when she said this, "Now…" The old woman smirked as she continued, "Remember… Like a star should your love be constant. Like a stone should your love be firm. Be close, yet not too close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience each with the other. For storms will come, but they will go quickly. Be free in giving of affection and warmth. Make love often, and be sensuous to one another. Have no fear and let not the ways or words of the unenlightened give you unease. For the power of true love is with you, now and always."

She looked over the couple and addressed the spectators. "The souls of these two are forever joined in love and trust." She returned her gaze to the couple and added, "You may now kiss your bride."

With Emma in flats, and Regina in heels they stood eye to eye with one another, it was a rarity neither woman was used to, but Regina pulled in the savior, guiding the girls hands over her hips as she in turn wrapped her own around the blonde's neck. Their lips touched soft at first, but as Regina opened her mouth to allow Emma entrance, the blonde took liberty and deepened her kiss. Their magic sought out each other and twisted around the couple in a vibrant translucent light show for the witnesses. After several moments Henry finally cleared his throat, then called out, "Moms!" when the throat clearing hadn't pulled the women apart. Emma smiled into their united kiss effectively breaking off the heated moment. She pulled the brunette into her, nowhere near as close as she had wanted, her swollen belly wouldn't allow for it, but she hugged the woman just the same and whispered into the brunette's ear, "My Wife…"

Even though the ceremony had been small and intimate, performed in a clearing next to the creek on the Swan-Mills property, the reception was a completely different matter. The entire town had come to attend the party thrown by the Sheriff and Mayor. Snow had happily worked with her daughter to make the arrangements, much to the urging of Emma's father, pleading with his daughter to allow her mother this one kindness. He reminded her the brunette was 'indeed trying' and how their daughter 'didn't marry every day' and of course old faithful, 'Please Emma, do it for me?' his pale blue eyes melted the blonde's heart, and of course she would suffer through being Snow's princess-daughter for him. The planning hadn't been as awful as she had thought it would have been; Snow suggested they hold the reception out at the town stables. There was a large barn that would easily house the guest list, if you could call it a guest list, more like a town census. They hired a band, a few of the older lost boys had formed themselves into an old world folk band complete with lutes, fiddles and flutes. The music they chose was perfect for the Enchanted Forest feel of the reception. The dwarves manned the several fire pits that cooked the roast boars provided by several hunters. There had also been venison, rabbit and what Emma had hoped was wild turkey, but had instantly thought was goose at first inspection. Granny's provided the fixings of customary potato salad, macaroni salad, salad-salad and of course a wide variety of baked breads, vegetables and fruit platters.

The wedding cake had been ordered months in advance by Regina of course who knew exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it. It stood 4 feet tall with tiers of white fondant covered with pearl looking buttons, giving it a quilted appearance. At the very top where the customary bride and groom, or bride and bride as it were, would normally be placed was a white swan adorned with a golden crown. A tongue in cheek play on the titles each woman carried.

Regina and Emma sat on a bench made from bales of hay that lined the back wall of the barn and watched the festivities, content with just being with one another. They had danced the first dance as a married couple, then the remainder of the evening Emma curled up in her wife's arms and just watched the town celebrate their love.

Emma and Regina created the portal to Toril. They left word for Killian at a popular sailors pub to meet Regina at the next full moon. Regina left a letter with the bar-keep that was to be delivered to the pirate as soon as he came into port.

 _Killian,_

 _It is vital that I meet with you. There is an urgent matter that needs to be discussed. Whenever it is you receive this letter, please make sure you make port at the very next new moon cycle and meet me at this establishment. I will portal back to this land every new moon until we meet. I hope this letter reaches you in good health._

 _Regina Swan-Mills_

While they waited for the first full moon to roll around, they had decided to learn the sex of their child, although both women, and their son, had referred to the child as a male from pretty much the start. Regina was pleased their gut instincts had been correct. They had initially decided Emma would cease all frivolous magic use early on in the pregnancy, her magical sickness didn't stop when she stopped using magic. Several more sonograms into the pregnancy they realized peanut was progressing normally and figured they were just wrong about when they had conceived. And once her first trimester was complete the blonde ceased all morning and or magic sickness symptoms. Regina eased off the no magic rule a bit and Emma convinced her she would be fine to create the portals needed to find Hook and as long as Regina brought someone with her to act as a guard on the other side, she had agreed to stay behind.

Emma's first choice was her father of course, and he had agreed initially to accompany his daughter in law and stand guard over the portal while she attended to business, however it was Snow who showed up that day in lieu of David.

Emma's face showed the surprise she felt, "Mom? Where's dad?" Emma asked looking expectantly behind the brunette. Her mother had a bow strapped to her back and a pair of daggers sticking out of her boots and she was dressed as the bandit she had been in her youth.

"I'm going to go with Regina. I want to help." She looked down at Emma's large stomach and pulled her lips in tight with a pained smile. She pushed passed her daughter and addressed the former queen. "If that is alright with you?"

Regina looked to her wife, whose face held the worry she felt and the brunette nodded her permission. "It shouldn't take long." She added to sooth the blonde's concerns. The pixie haired brunette clapped her hands together and allowed a happy smile to cross her face, "Great! Are you ready?"

Regina pulled her tote bag over her shoulder and nodded.

It took Snow and Regina two visits before Killian finally met up with the queen at the designated bar. Regina walked into the establishment and scanned the all too familiar scene. The man she was looking for stood at the bar lifting a tankard with his good hand and pulled in a pretty young blonde to his side with his other arm. Regina sauntered up to the pirate and tapped him on the shoulder. The man turned and although his eyes were glossy with drink his sloppy smile showed the kindness she had seen in him once upon a time.

"Your Majesty!" he said entirely too loud as he greeted the queen. "I got your message love! Whatever can I do for her highness and the savior?"

Regina cleared her throat and looked at the blonde who had pulled herself closer to the pirate and glared at the queen with jealous contempt.

Killian got the hint and shoved off the girl as though she were the bar wench he thought of her and put his arm around Regina. "Come now lass, let us have a more intimate conversation." He drawled and stumbled and still thought he was devilishly seductive. Regina rolled her eyes and dipped out from the pirate's grasp, taking a seat at a secluded table in the corner of the establishment.

"I need a vial of your blood." She said as he sat.

"What the hell for?" he spat trying to portray the anger he really didn't feel.

"Listen, pirate." She tried to get a hold of her emotions, she knew the man hadn't harmed her wife, at least not with intent, but the fact that he had been with her still made the brunette all kinds of jealous. She decided she would be blunt. Efficiency had always served her well. "Emma is pregnant."

The anger drained from the man's cool blue eyes immediately. "I'm going to be a father?" he asked reverently. She decided at this point to lie to the man, she had honestly not known if her wife had been with anyone else and there was a slim chance Peanut wasn't Hooks. She didn't want to give him false hope.

"We are uncertain." She lied. "I wanted to rule you out before we tried to track down Neal." His face grew sullen at the mention of what he considered his rival, first over the woman who held his heart, now over the child he could potentially be a father to.

"If it is mine, would you allow me to be…" he had sobered almost instantly, his words no longer slurred, however emotion caught them deep in his throat and he couldn't complete his question.

"You'd have that right, but know this pirate, this is our child. I've already had one baby daddy make me regret giving into the parental needs of the father!" she said harshly, stating in no uncertain terms her role in the child's life. "If it is… If you are the… Reason… it exists, then it is solely based on your actions whether or not you are involved."

Killian sat back in his chair and took in the information just handed to him, many things crossed his mind nothing least of which his own fathers shortcomings as he had sold both of his children to be slaves. He quietly contemplated the woman before him, knowing Emma's son Henry had grown up to be everything the pirate could ever hope for in a child of his own, thanks to the queen who sat before him.

"Alright." He said finally. "What do you need of me?"

"Just a bit of your blood, we can test it against the child's DNA and I'll leave word for you here with the bar keeper of the results."

"Aye." He nodded in agreement. Regina smiled softly revealing her compassion for the man in this situation. "Why isn't Swan here?" he asked suddenly.

"We were uncertain portal travel would be safe in her condition." Regina figured it was partially true, and didn't feel as though admitting the blonde's shame would do anyone any good, so she kept it to herself.

Regina got the pirate's blood and returned to Snow who dutifully waited at the mirrored portal, at the ready, bow drawn. Snow relaxed as she saw Regina walking towards her, she saw the look of satisfaction on the queen's face as she approached and knew the man had finally arrived. "So you got it?" Snow asked knowingly.

"I got it." Regina said with a polite smile. Snow smiled brightly and turned to walk back through the portal to Storybrooke. A hand met her shoulder and she stopped and turned back towards Regina with a questioning look.

"Emma knows you and David plan on leaving." The queen said quietly. The younger brunette was shocked into silence for a moment before the queen continued. "I know we have never had the best of relationships Snow, but I love her, and you two leaving to go start a new family, will hurt her."

"Regina, we aren't leaving to forget about Emma…" the princess started.

"I know you don't think that, Snow, but she does." Regina said the look of compassion in the queen's dark eyes moved the princess forcing her to admit finally to herself the woman before her had truly changed.

"Who will run my father's kingdom?" Snow asked, "I'm assuming you won't be returning to take back your throne." Regina rolled her eyes slightly, "Who says you have to live there to rule there? Appoint a Queen Regent." Regina countered. "I'm not saying it will be easy Snow, I'm saying it is important to Emma, and my children, for you to stay in our lives."

Snows mouth dropped open as she stared up at the dark queen who stood before her, the woman she had loved, had feared, had hated and have finally come to admire. "I'll consider it." The fair brunette said finally. "You do realize this is your chance to finally rid me of your life Regina."

"I am painfully aware dear." Regina drawled. "If putting up with you for the rest of my days means my wife won't feel abandoned and replaced by her family, that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."

"What do you mean replaced?" Snow stepped forward concern written across her brow.

"Ruby mentioned you and David were starting a family." Regina said and looked away from Snow's green eyes that reminded her so much of her love.

"Our family has already been started." Snow corrected the queen.

"I'm well aware dear," Regina snapped back. "I'm explaining how it was told to your daughter. How SHE sees it." The queen folded her arms defensively. "Look. I realize it is complicated Snow, just don't leave because you feel you have some responsibility elsewhere, don't leave because you feel as though you are not wanted here, with your family."

"You… did you just call me… your family?" Snow asked quietly.

"Yes well…" Regina rolled her eyes then pursed her lips together in a wicked sneer. "You are my mother-in-law dear."

Snow let out a surprised laugh realizing the queen was joking with her, even though she was the butt of the joke, they were still having a moment. "Alright. I'll talk to David. Ella and Thomas have been making plans to return home, perhaps they would be interested in being the seven kingdom's regents." She said with a little smirk.

"Good. I'd ask you not to discuss this conversation with Emma, but I'm aware of how well you keep secrets dear." Regina said as she pushed passed the pixie haired brunette to enter the mirrored portal with a smirk on her face. Snow rolled her eyes as she realized the brunette would never let it go. "I was a child!" she said under her breath as she turned to follow the queen back home.


	31. Chapter 31

As they waited for Killian's test to return, Regina kept herself busy putting the finishing touches up in the Swan-Mills home. Emma was 7 months pregnant and they had all but moved into their almost completed homestead. Things had progressed quickly during the two months they waited for Killian to receive word Regina wished a meeting with him, and their family home was nearly complete as many of the townsfolk helped out on the project. Emma had been a little more than upset that she was unable to help with a bulk of the construction due to her condition that steadily protruded outward from her midsection. Regina had forbade the blonde to do anything on the house after her 5 month rolled around and at that time they barely had the skeleton of the house in place. She had always dreamed of building a home, doing the work herself, and it bummed her out passing off the work onto others. She had however found she was a fantastic delegator. She also found out her new bride looked amazingly hot in jean shorts and a tank top dripping with sweat from a hard day of labor. Regina had her hair pulled back in a messy bun and had a little white trimmed work belt hanging off her hips.

"Blue collar work suits you babe." Emma said with a hungry smile. Regina chuckled as she continued putting up the trim Doc and Doug had pre-cut for her in the living room. She made sure she bent down at the waist in front of the blonde when she reached for a new hand full of finishing nails. She caught a quick peek at the savior admiring her attributes from between her legs and chuckled harder. "You are too easy." She shook her head and finished placing the trim above the doorway. "Yeah well I'm married to a goddess in short shorts, poor you are stuck with a manatee with a badge." Emma grumbled.

Regina smacked her thumb with the little ball pin hammer and cursed under her breath, bringing her aching digit into her mouth. Emma tried to stand from her sitting position behind the mayor to go comfort her wife, but was quickly waved off by the brunette. "It's ok dear, stay." The blonde huffed and pouted and draped her hand over her swollen tummy. Regina picked up the hammer she dropped and put it in its holster on her hip before walking over to where the blonde had taken to keeping her company. She sat down in front of the blonde wrapping her legs over Emma's thighs and around her body getting as close as she could to the sheriff she leaned in and kissed her wife on the nose. "You are beautiful pregnant. I find you insanely sexy like this and if I didn't want to meet our little peanut so bad I'd seriously consider keeping you this way forever!"

"Did you just say you want to keep me barefoot and pregnant?" Emma scoffed.

"I'm ok with bare feet." Regina kidded the blonde as she rubbed Emma's pale skin under her tee shirt.

"Next thing you're going to say is my place is in the kitchen!" Emma exclaimed keeping up with the joke.

"Gods no! The kitchen is no place for you Swan!" Regina laughed and shook her head vehemently. Emma shoved her wife lightly on the shoulder, "Hey, I'm getting better." She pouted.

"I'm kidding darling, I know you are." Regina relented knowing Emma maybe kidding, but something's still hurt the blonde especially with her hormones being all crazy pregnant. Just last night the blonde cried for an hour because Henry absently said he would rather Ava and Nick's father drive the children to the movies instead of her. What he actually said was, "Thanks but it's ok ma, Nicks Dad'll drive us." The boy had made previous arrangements not wanting to put the blonde out. What Emma heard was she is a terrible parent and he is embarrassed of her and doesn't want her to be around his friends. Regina felt like she was talking a jumper down off the ledge and she had no desire to go through that again.

"So it took the first curse to give us Henry, a second curse to give us Pea. Jesus Regina I hope you don't want any more kids because I'm not sure if I can handle a third curse!" Regina smiled and shook her head as Regina's phone rang on her hip, "We can discuss it darling, I'm sure we can try to have a child without causing mass devastation." She held up her cell and her smile disappeared as she answered it.

"This is she." The queen paused and listened for a moment before she exclaims, "What? Are you sure?" the shock on the brunettes face could not be hidden and she didn't even try. "Alright, well, thank you." Regina disconnected the call and bit the inside of her lip as Emma gave her a worried brow look. Emma knew deep down in her gut, she knew what that call had been about and the look on her wife's face needed no explanation. "Peanut isn't Hooks either." Emma said directly as a statement, but Regina answered her as if it were a question anyway. "No."

Emma's features crumpled and she hid her face behind her hands and silently sobbed her shame. "Baby, it is okay. It is, I promise it is okay." Regina tried to reassure the girl, but Emma was inconsolable at that point she shook her head at her wife's attempts to calm her, "I feel like I'm on Maury Povich!" the blonde exclaimed. Regina didn't watch much day time TV and didn't quite understand the reference, but assumed it was some self-deprecating comment about their paternal issues. Regina rested her hand on the blonde's thigh when she noticed something dark between her wife's legs. "Emma?!" the queen was in a panic as she realized what was a small dark spot was becoming larger and was a deep crimson red. She shook her head in disbelief and tried to widen her wife's legs as if seeing it more clearly would make what she was seeing untrue. "No! No! No! No! No!" the queen chanted and then looked up as Emma's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she lost consciousness. Regina scrambled up to catch her love before she hit her head and as she wrapped her arms around the blonde she transported them to the hospital emergency room. They appeared on the floor in triage and Regina started instantly barking orders at anyone and everyone around them.

The staff worked quickly and got Emma up on a gurney and wheeled her back into an exam room. One of the younger orderlies tried to hold Regina back as the brunette started to follow but the queen's eyes filled with dark purple and she magically pinned the little blonde girl to the wall. "She is my WIFE!" Regina spat at the girl. The fear that clouded over the orderlies eyes sobered the queen and she let the woman free to go follow her wife and child into the exam area.

By the time she found them the hospital staff had cut off Emma's clothing and one of the male nurses was explaining the cursory triage to Dr. Whale. Victor saw Regina and snapped his fingers to beckon her closer. Regina started to explain immediately what had happened. "We just got some really stressful news and she started bleeding and then passed out." Regina stood back feeling helpless as the swarm of nurses, doctors and assistants worked on her wife.

"Spotting can be normal, especially under stresses. I'm more concerned with her loss of consciousness. Did she hit her head?" He asked quickly as he walked over to the blonde and tested her irises with a pen light.

"No." Regina shook her head and covered her mouth with her hands as she watched them hook her wife up to IVs and heart monitors and several other machines she wasn't sure what they were.

"Good." He said dismissively toward Regina then directed one of the older nurses to call down and prepare imaging as he intended to wheel the sheriff down to ultrasound. The saline drip had been administered as soon as they wheeled the blonde to the exam room and the electrolytes started to work and roused the sheriff from her unconscious state.

"What?" the blonde tried to bring her hand to her head, she was dazed and confused and looking around. "Regina?" the blonde had started to panic before the brunette spoke her name, "I'm here Emma!" She reached out her hand towards the brunette who took it instantly. Whale snapped his fingers towards the blonde gaining her attention, "I need to do a physical exam on you Sheriff, bend your knees." Emma followed his directions and turned her attention back to the brunette. "What happened? Is Peanut okay?"

Regina smiled down at the blonde trying to placate her and nodded her head she ran her fingers through the woman's blonde hair and bent down and kissed her temple. "Relax, everything is going to be fine my love." Regina whispered into her ear. Whale finished his exam and Emma's eyes grew large as his fingers were covered in blood. Regina stroked her wife's head and reassured her, "It is just some spotting, it's okay. It happens when you are highly stressed so you need to relax babygirl." The queen's voice was steady and musical and put the blonde at ease instantly.

Whale circled around the bed and removed his gloves with a snap. "Are you feeling any pain Miss Swan?"

"No. I don't think so."

"No cramping or anything? How about lower back pain?" He asked.

She ran her hand over the side of her tummy and then shook her head a definitive no.

"Alright well everything looks normal, I'd like to take a look inside just to make sure baby is not distressed. We've taken some blood work which should come back by the time you return from ultrasound. Alright? Alright." And with that he started to walk away. Regina reached out and grabbed Victor by the arm, and looked him dead in the eye, "It's Mrs. Mills or Sheriff, and I want every test possible run on her and the baby, you got me?" He smirked and swallowed lazily. "Sure thing your Majesty." He pulled his arm away from the brunette's grip and walked away. As he did he shot over his shoulder, "Nice tool belt by the way." He chuckled to himself and continued his way down the corridor. A hateful glare bore into the man's back as he sauntered away and Regina took a deep breath in order to calm herself. She went back to her wife and bent down to kiss the girl on her forehead.

The male nurse Whale had been barking orders at earlier came over and dislodged the wheel lock on Emma's bed and pulled it toward him. The queen stood upright and called out to the blonde, "I'm right behind you darling." and proceeded to follow the procession of staff wheeling her wife to the imaging department.

Once they had finished in imaging they returned the savior back to her spot in the exam area. The woman who had done the ultrasound had reassured the couple that everything seemed to look okay there was nothing wrong with the infant. Regina fixed Emma's pillows to make her more comfortable as they waited and stole some off a few of the empty beds in the surrounding area to put under her wife's knees taking pressure off of her back. Regina sat up on the bed with Emma and laced her fingers with the blonde while stroking her tummy with her other hand. "Listen darling, That is it." She said with a stern look. "I no longer care who the father is. Our child has two parents, we are stopping all of this right now."

"How can we not know Regina? What if it is a dwarf?"

Regina lifted her eyebrow and deadpaned the blonde.

"No, but really, I need to know." The blonde stated firmly a sadness in her eyes reached out for her lovers understanding. "Remember when Katherine went missing? I had cataloged the town's blood types, fingerprints and DNA into a database."

"I don't remember you doing that." Regina said with a scowl.

"That's because I never told you." The blonde said then quickly added, "You would have freaked out on me. Go on, deny it!"

The mayor pursed her lips together and side glanced the blonde goading her on. "I confirm, nor deny a thing Mrs. Mills." She said haughtily jetting her chin out regally.

"I bet we can come up with a way to quickly compare the blood samples against the town to narrow it down." Emma said hopefully. Regina could tell this was important to her wife so she rolled her eyes and conceded to the sheriff's plan. "Fine. We can run a simple query on blood type, then run DNA against those who match."

"See?" Emma said with a huge smile, "This is why I keep you around!" she kidded the queen.

"Oh and here I thought it was because of my cooking." Regina said smugly.

"Your cooking…" Emma looked dreamy with a little crooked smile. "I'm starving," Emma exclaimed. "I missed lunch."

"You didn't eat lunch?" Regina said with a scolding look. "No wonder you passed out Em-ma!"

"Okay babe, be mad later, for now I'm sick. Love me." The blonde pouted and pushed her head into the pillow and gave her wife a cute smirk.

"You're lucky I love you." The brunette said as she shot her wife a teasing glare. She bent down and kissed Emma's belly. She began 'worshiping at Buddha's belly' as Emma had started calling it when Regina would touch and kiss her tummy and whisper or talk to the peanut. Regina rested her head over Emma's navel looking up into her wife's green eyes. "I'll agree to running the blood type query as long as you promise to relax about all of this paternity stuff. I don't care if your cursed self fucked the entire town sideways, it has nothing to do with us or our baby. Please Emma, you need to stop beating yourself up over this."

"You know peanut just heard you say the F word. If he comes out dropping the F bomb you're not allowed to blame me." Emma deflected with jokes as she always did when things got too real.

"Emma…" Regina warned softly.

"Alright fine, I promise." Emma relented. "It isn't like whoever it is could be any worse than the two we thought it could be."

One of the doctor's assistants came over to their bed and picked up Emma's chart. He made a few notes and informed the women Dr. Whale wanted to keep Emma overnight for observation. This got a whine from Emma who looked with pleading eyes to her wife and begged her not to make her stay. "Babe? Please? Please? I promise to stay in bed and do anything you tell me at the first sign of anything we can whoosh back here. Please don't make me stay!" the pout the savior pulled out was of epic proportions and Regina took a deep sigh and drew her attention to the assistant. "Has the blood work come back yet?" the man flipped through the chart and nodded, "Yes, everything came back normal. Her blood sugar levels were low, but other than that, everything came back normally."

"And the child?" Regina continued.

"He is fine." The man said without looking up at the queen and turning to the next page. "The spotting has stopped and the placenta seems to be in a good position so we are uncertain on why the spotting occurred."

Regina worried her lip as she looked back to her wife who had pursed her lips together in a pout. "If you think I should stay, I will, but I feel much better and like the kid said, the bleeding has stopped."

"I'd like to speak with Dr. Whale." The brunette announced looking into her lover's green eyes.

The doctor was none too happy to be hauled away from whatever it was he had been doing, by the queen, however once she spoke with him he informed her it was standard practice for a 24 hour observation to be ordered in cases such as Emma's and he felt that as long as she took responsibility for the blonde she could certainly take her home and magically transport her back if anything does occur. Emma was ecstatic when Regina relayed the news and once they got home Regina made sure the blonde kept her word and got straight into bed and stayed there.


	32. Chapter 32

Emma put up with the bed rest, or in reality, couch rest, for almost a full week before she started getting whiny and convinced Regina to let her go down to the station and get some work done. The queen knew full well this 'work' Emma had planned on doing had nothing to do with her job as Sheriff and everything to do with finding out who contributed to conceiving their child. She relented, after a few days of keeping her foot firmly planted, she couldn't have the savior thinking she was a pushover for a whine and a moan, even if it was so cute it hurt the brunette's heart just a little.

Emma had called Tinkerbelle to ask if she would mind dropping by and giving her a lift to the station. The 'unnecessary magic' rule was still in full effect, which meant no whooshing and Emma knew Tink would love an excuse to get out of the office and would be more than happy to go get her.

"Wow you got huge!" the former fairy exclaimed as Emma tried to lower herself into the squad car. "Seriously! You are massive!"

Emma knit her brow together and gave the blonde deputy a grumpy look. She knew quite well the girl didn't mean to hurt her feelings, and she hadn't seen the sheriff since Regina put a ban on work at 5 months. Leaving for maternity leave at 5 months had been a little ridiculous, she knew, but it was also really nice the way Regina looked after her, so she gave into any and all of the queen's new peanut rules. "I know, I'm hideously fat, you don't have to point it out." The sheriff pouted.

"No, you're not fat at all!" the deputy explained, "You just look like you swallowed a planet, the rest of you is like regular old Sheriff Swan, I bet you don't even look pregnant from behind!" That had actually made the sheriff feel a little better and so she smiled and thanked the girl.

"So…" Tink started as she pulled away from the Sheriff's apartment building. "What's this work you need to do at the station all of a sudden?"

"I just need to get out of the house, Regina's had me on lock down and I thought I could use the computer system at the station for a couple hours for a change of pace." Emma lied as she looked out the window of the squad car.

"Regina's got you on a tight leash then has she?" Tink pried.

Emma looked back toward the former fairy, knowing the girl's relationship with her wife had been complicated. "She is protecting her family." Emma lifted a knowing eyebrow towards the deputy as if to close the subject of her wife. Tink took the hint and they arrived at the station in no time.

Emma waddled into the station and set up camp at one of the deputy desks in the main room. The computer system had all been recently upgraded, much to Emma's extreme pleasure, perks of dating the mayor is that funding got found for essentials. Not that she would ever abuse her relationship with Regina in order to get anything crazy for the station, but an overhaul of the old 90's computer systems from when she first came to Storybrooke was deemed not only essential, but critical. The database she built the town census files in was easily transferred over into the new updated system and she worked for well over an hour trying to set up an easy way to sort through the residents. It hadn't been important at the time for her to categorize the townspeople by gender so she ended up running the blood type against the entire town. Once she figured out the newer system's query protocols it took a few minutes before she was printing out a list of names. 'Only one page, not bad' she thought to herself.

She went through the short list crossing out the females and chuckled as she came across her wife's name. 'Man that would make things so much easier.' She thought as she crossed Regina Mills off the shortlist of potential fathers. What had been left was 7 potentials, of those only 5 seemed viably optional as she knew King George would never, and Rumpelstiltskin was dead. She took the names on her shortened short list and made a call to cold storage down at the hospital where she kept the samples she had collected from the townsfolk so long ago. She gave instruction for the 5 potential samples be pulled and their DNA be run against the markers of the unborn Swan-Mills baby sample they had on file.

She was closing down the computer and getting herself ready to ask Tink to take her home when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw it was her mother.

"Hey." She answered. They had been slowly getting back to a place where their interactions were not as strained as they had been earlier in the year, and she recognized her mother was trying, as her father had so often pointed out.

"Hi sweetheart, where are you?" Snow's sweet voice asked.

"Down at the station, I had some work to do." She answered as she pulled her jacket on. It wasn't cold, but it was damp and she knew Regina would literally have a figurative cow if she hadn't brought at least a windbreaker. "Why what's up?"

"Oh I stopped by the apartment, Regina said you were on bed rest, I thought I'd come make you some lunch, but since you are out, would you like to grab something down at Granny's?" the brunette asked, knowing full well Emma had been on a strict diet since they found out she was with child and would jump at the chance to indulge in a greasy burger.

"Oh my god. YES!" Emma's answer came alongside a grumble inside her stomach that could only be attributed to a wild animal at the mention of a Granny burger. "I'm just finishing up at the station, wanna come get me?"

"I would love to sweetheart." Snow said honestly. "I'll be there in 5."

"Great, I'll start waddling out now, maybe by the time I get out there, you'll have been waiting for me for 10 minutes." The blonde joked and her mother chuckled and 'oh Emma'd' her and they disconnect the call. She swung by her office where Tink was eating a carrot stick snack and surfing the internet for cat videos, most likely.

"How is Snoopy working out?" the sheriff asked her deputy. They had hired a replacement for Neal several months back and Snoopy was one of the few people who was interested in the job. Emma had been concerned about hiring him, but quickly realized her own petty biases were the only reason she ever doubted the man competent to perform the duties.

"He honestly suits his name, your dad had no leads on the vandal artist tagging people's properties and Snoopy was like totally all over it. He found the kid who was doing it three days after taking the case over from David. It was amazing!" Tinkerbelle gushed. The fairy wasn't quick to complement so Emma took it as a good sign that perhaps Snoop was a keeper.

"I'm glad to hear it. Listen, my mom is going to come get me so we're good. Thanks for picking me up, I really appreciate it." She said as she mindlessly rubbed her tummy. Peanut took that moment to kick his mom and she flinched.

"Are you alright?" the fairy asked concerned. She knew the sheriff had been on bedrest and was afraid the queen would blame her if anything happened to her wife.

"Yeah I'm great, the pea is just kick boxing in there." She looked at the confused look on the blonde deputy's face and waddled over to her. She asked for the girl's hand and placed it on the side of her stomach and waited.

"What are you—" Tink started then gasped as the peanut kicked out landing a round house perfectly to Tink's palm. "Holy crap!" Tink exclaimed. "There's like a little thing inside of you! Ew! That is so weird!" Peanut kicked twice more before settling back down and Tink looked up at Emma with almost horror painted across her face. "Does it do that all the time?" she wrinkled up her nose at the prospect of growing something inside her body. Fairies were incubated inside the pollen sacs of a specific type of flower back in the Enchanted Forest, the whole prospect of how humans procreated was completely foreign to her.

"No not all the time." Emma chuckled at the blonde's distaste for how humans were made. "He is pretty calm most of the time, well until Regina is around, he hears her voice and starts doing the rhumba, the kid loves his mommy, let me tell you!" She said with great pride. Emma saw her mother pull up in front of the station in David's truck through the windows of her office. "There's my ride. Catch you later Tink!" she smiled and waved leaving the girl sitting in her office with an amazed and honestly, a grossed out look on her face. She chuckled as she waddled out knowing full well she had blemished her deputy's psyche that day.

She did indeed waddle a little bit as she walked out towards the truck. Her mother had gotten out to open the door for her pregnant daughter.

"It's cool, I'm good, oh.. uh… alright." Emma finally relented as Snow insisted to not only open the cab door but help her daughter inside.

Snow closed the door and trotted around the front of the truck to get into the driver's side. Emma was smiling still after exposing the blonde deputy to her unborn son. "What is it honey?" the brunette asked curiously. "Oh nothing, I am certain I just scarred Tink for life just now." Her chuckle turned into a full laugh which turned into a cough due to the restriction Peanut put on her lung capacity now a days. "How was that now?" Snow asked innocently.

"The baby kicked and I made her feel it. The look on her face was priceless." Emma rolled her head back as a joyous sigh came from deep within her. She tilted her head drawing her attention to her mother who had started the truck, but hadn't moved as of yet. Snow's face was an open book and the look she had was expectant. Emma had known the woman had wanted to be more involved with her pregnancy, but she was still upset about her parents leaving her, again, to go start their perfect family back in the Enchanted Forest, so she had kept the woman at arms-length. Emma held out her hand to take her mother's and placed the palm over the spot just under her ribcage where Peanut had been practicing his jabs for most of the day. For almost a full minute the baby was quiet and Snow went to pull her hand away when Emma pulled her phone out, "Hang on, I know what will get Pea moving."

She dialed her wife at work and pulled back her mother's hand placing back over where it was previously. Emma got Regina's voicemail but put the recording on speaker and held it up to her tummy. Just like a switch had been turned on the baby started kicking and twitching around inside of her at the sound of Regina's voice. Snow's eyes grew large with wonder then swelled up with tears. It was the first time she felt her grandchild move and she was overcome with emotion. Emma left a quick message for her wife on her voicemail, "Nothing urgent, the Peanut was missing Mommy's voice. We love you!" she made a kissing noise into the phone and disconnected the call.

"Thank you for sharing that with me Emma." Snow said as she lightly rubbed her daughter's swollen tummy.

"No problem. Now I believe you made mention of burgers?" Emma said wiggling her eyebrows. Her mother burst out laughing as her blonde daughter's stomach grumbled loudly. "The beast as spoken!" Emma declared and Snow pulled out of the parking spot to drive down to Granny's.

They chose a table instead of a booth they would have sat at normally. Emma wouldn't have fit comfortably in the booth, but the chairs left much to be desired for her back as the alternative, she was closing quickly on her 8th month and remembered all too well this was the worst of it. She also knew this wouldn't last forever so she tried not to whine too much.

Snow's eyes bulged as Emma finished off her second burger, not touching the fries at all and downed the chocolate shake she had ordered mid meal. "Yeah I don't know what it is about the fries, Peanut hates them, much to my dismay. The kid loves beef though." She swallowed the last bite of burger and slurped the bottom of the shake cup loudly.

"What is the weirdest thing you've wanted to eat?" Snow asked with genuine interest.

"Uh that would be Kale, much to my wife's extreme pleasure. I cannot get enough of the bitter green crap. Oh! And raw spinach!" Snow chuckled knowing all too well her daughter's eating habits and kale and spinach were indeed a strange order. "I swear if I didn't know any better I'd say the pea was Regina's and not mine. I mean what kid of mine doesn't like French fries? When I was pregnant with Henry it was fried everything I could get my hands on, but tater tots were what he loved the most. Not that I had a lot of say in what I fed him." The blonde suddenly got sombre as her emotions crept up on her out of nowhere. "I'm sorry. Hormones." She said and sniffled and wiped a rogue tear. Snow reached over the table and took her daughter's hand. She didn't say anything, she was just quietly supportive. Emma not only noticed the woman not trying to 'fix' her daughter by saying something silver-liney, but also the fact she was just trying to be her friend. Emma had missed the friendship she had with Mary Margaret, before the curse broke, and that thought pushed the emotional flood gate open for the blonde and she started to openly weep. Her cheeks grew a dark crimson as she realized she was fully crying in public, but didn't have the ability to stop. Snow stood up and went over to comfort her daughter, she stood next to her and let Emma burry her face into her abdomen as if she were a child seeking comfort from a nightmare. Something they had never ever done, but also felt like they had.

"I miss you." Emma said into Snow's newly dampened shirt.

"I'm here sweetheart." Snow stroked her daughter's long blonde hair soothing the girl as she gently tugged at the strands.

Emma seemed to gain some control over herself and let out a sigh she pulled back from her mother and blew her nose noisily into her napkin. Snow chose to sit down on the same side of the table as her daughter instead of returning to her previous seat across from her. She took Emma's hands in her own and drew the girls attention, fixating their green eyes upon one another. "I know you heard rumors that your father and I are leaving to go back to the Enchanted Forest. I asked you out today because I wanted to tell you myself," Emma dropped her gaze feeling her heart break a little, she didn't think she could deal with this right now, she was already emotionally raw and even though she already knew the truth, hearing the words directly from her mother's mouth would hurt her and she knew it. She tried to put on her brave face, the one she forged from years of getting sent away and discarded. "I know you guys need to run your father's kingdom." Emma cut the brunette off before she could continue trying to convince her mother she understood her reasoning for leaving her once more. She did, logistically, completely understand. If the prince and princess didn't return, Regina's kingdom would get overrun by some up in coming royal who would seize power in the evil queen's absence.

"We do," Snow agreed and continued, "But I'm going to appoint Ella and Thomas to be the Queen Regent of the land."

Emma looked up at her mother with confusion. "I don't know what that means." She said shaking her head.

"It means, I'm not leaving you Emma. Your father and I are staying in this land. We are staying with our family." Snow's green eyes searched the blonde's for the understanding she had hoped the girl would have.

"What?" Emma asked clearly shocked and confused.

"I will rule the Enchanted Forest, with Regina's help of course, from here. Since Ella and Thomas had already decided to live there, I will officially appoint them Queen Regent, which means they will rule as I see fit. Anything that happens, your father and I, or you… I mean, if you wanted… and I would go sort it out. But we would reside here. Together." Snow smiled as understanding seeped into her daughter and joy passed across her fair daughter's face as she realized she was not in fact being replaced, or abandoned yet again.

"You'd ask for Regina's help?" Emma focused on something that really had nothing to do with her because it was much easier than discussing herself.

"Well, yes," Snow looked doubtful the queen would help her for just a moment then remembered the talk she had with her former step mother and now daughter in law in the land of Toril. "I've never really ruled a kingdom. We took back the kingdom from the… Regina… and only a few months went by before the curse was cast. You were right, I'm a school teacher." Snow said quietly remembering her daughter's harsh words so long ago. Emma knit her brow briefly at her own painful words thrown back at her then shrugged her shoulders, "And Dad is a shepherd, whatever. I'm sure Regina would be willing to help you." She smiled softly, showing her compassion toward her mother.

Emma surprised her mother as she leaned forward and crashed into her, pulling the small brunette into a bear hug. "I'm so happy you are staying Mom." The sincerity of her voice filled with emotion.

"So are we sweetheart." Snow said honestly.


	33. Chapter 33

A few weeks went by and Emma was in the home stretch of her pregnancy, less than two weeks left before her due date and she was feeling quite anxious. The Swan-Mills family had finally outfitted their newly finished home and had moved in officially. Emma was painfully uncomfortable and although she tried not to be, was quite vocal about it. It was the end of July and despite Maine not being known for it's heat, it had been a sweltering summer thus far and Emma was almost at her wits end. She was preparing for a cool bath upstairs when the call came in. She had been trying to keep herself busy and not think about the paternity test that had taken weeks to complete. She was standing in the bathroom in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts that barely clung to around her hips, holding the phone to her ear shocked into silent stupefaction.

"How is that possible?" the sheriff finally said when the tech on the line asked if she was still there.

"It just means it isn't one of the 5 samples you provided Sheriff." The tech said plainly.

"THERE IS NO ONE ELSE!" Emma shouted into the phone. Her body was shaking with adrenaline and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"Check it again. There are no other options. Check ALL the samples you have been given again. NOW. And then call me back." She disconnected the line and dialed her wife. Regina had a meeting earlier that afternoon but was still at the office finishing up some work when Emma called her.

"I need you." The blonde said holding back the tidal wave of feelings she felt. Her voice cracked a little and Regina whooshed home immediately. Emma heard her ask where she was into the phone, but also heard her wife's deep voice downstairs in the living room. Emma clicked off the phone and called to her wife. She could hear the mayor's heels click up the wooden stairs as she opened the bathroom door. As soon as she saw the brunette Emma lost the battle with the wave and it crashed over her, she started babbling about how none of the samples she gave to the hospital were a match and then realization dawned upon her. "Oh my god!" Emma gasped as she pulled away from the embrace of her lover.

"What is it?" Regina asked, truly frightened.

"King George! He was the only one I didn't check! Oh EWWWWW!" Emma's face crumpled up at the thought of that man touching her in any way that would get her pregnant.

"I sincerely doubt it." Regina said with a knowing look.

"Why? I mean the only other one was Rumpel, and he was dead when I got pregnant."

"You are not George's type dear." Regina said with a small smirk.

Emma looked offended before Regina continued, "He likes blondes, but he likes them with a penis."

"George is gay?" Emma completely forgot about her own dilemma in lieu of this new juicy tidbit of information. She was pretty good at sniffing out the gays and she had missed him completely. Regina nodded her affirmation, "After his arranged marriage to his queen his extracurricular activities were rumored to be quite exotic." The queen drawled. She then suggested the lab made a mistake.

"I'm having them recheck the results. Of everyone." Emma said sadly, honest fear that Neal would be the father of their child came back in full force. She swallowed deeply and then hugged her wife hiding her face from her.

"Alright then, nothing has changed. Nothing will change, even after you find out. Pea is still our baby. Crisis averted?" Regina asked hopefully. The blonde nodded her head slowly then mumbled about going to take a cool bath.

"Okay, I'm going back to work. I'll be home in an hour." The brunette said and kissed her blonde wife on the head. "Call me if you need me darling."

As soon as the purple wispy smoke dissipated from the bathroom Emma called the lab tech back and asked him to run the child's sample against Regina's cataloged sample. All she could think of was the night she brought their son home, the magical love they created, maybe it was possible their magic altered the infant that had been inside of her already. She would have only barely been a week or so pregnant, the child wouldn't have been more than a small clump of cells at that point. At the time Regina had said their magic was combining, that it was turning into something new, maybe, just maybe it had affected their unborn child.

Her logical mind knew it was crazy to even hope for, or wish for or even pray for, even if she believed any of that crap. Nothing else had panned out. If it came back negative, she wouldn't be any closer to an answer to her child's parentage than she was currently.

"Listen," she said to the tech she had previously yelled at earlier that day. "I'm sorry I yelled before, I'm just, you know, hormones or whatever."

"Thank you Sheriff." The tech graciously accepted the saviors apology.

"Is there any way to get a super duper rush on Regina's test?" Emma asked hopefully.

"A super DUPER rush?" the tech asked with mirth in his voice.

"Yeah like as soon as humanly possible?"

"Yeah I can get it done by tomorrow." He said. "It takes several hours for the gel to set, but I'll work on it immediately in the morning and call you with the results as soon as I have them."

"Oh that would be awesome!" she said exasperatedly.

"Speak with you in the morning Sheriff." The tech said and disconnected the call.

Emma pulled her messy pony tail up into a tight bun on the top of her head and got into the bath she had prepared lukewarm in order to cool her overheated body down. She laid back in the water letting herself submerge in up to her chin. She rubbed her swollen belly that was sticking out of the water partially and her son kicked at her palm. "I know Pea, but Mumma is hot man, give me a minute." He kicked her twice more before settling down and she rested her head back and enjoyed her bath. Her mind chose to imagine what her child would look like if it was Regina's. Would he look like the brunette at all? Or would the infant just hold her wife's DNA markers? What if the magic altered the blastocyst in negative ways? She thought about the prenatal testing that Whale had done, but those tests, by his own admission, were for real world infant complications. They didn't know how magic affected the unborn child within her, even Regina didn't know. She started to panic a little before she reassured herself that she was overreacting, that the child wasn't some magically altered baby, he was conceived, well okay by way of a curse, which was magical, but it wasn't what caused the pregnancy, sex caused the pregnancy regular old non magical sex. To entertain anything else was preposterous and nonsensical, stupid wishy washy fairy tale crap.

'Said the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.' Said her asshole inner voice.

The rest of their evening Emma was quiet and withdrawn, she had completely convinced herself the lab made a mistake on the 7 samples she had either given or asked for testing on and even if one of those seven men were her and Regina's child's father, it really didn't make much difference now. She grew more sullen at the hope she felt during her bath when she entertained the idea of her wife being her baby's, well, father, diminished. She had realized that they would never just accidentally become pregnant, not the way other people do, not as a product of their love. It was a biological impossibility and it irked her that she couldn't have that. Not that she wanted Regina to be a man, that wasn't it at all, it just didn't seem fair to her that what straight couples take for granted, that 'Whoops! We created a life with our love.' Moment would never happen for her and her queen. If they wanted more children, and she honestly thought that they might, they would have to involve doctors and clinical visits and things so far removed from something private and loving between her and her true love. It didn't seem fair. Her logical mind had chastised her for thinking such ridiculous thoughts, but her heart was sad that it had to be that way. She felt bad for feeling jealous of what straight couples took for granted. This train of thought soured her mood even more.

She waved off repeated concerns from Regina and mumbled something about being tired. The worried look her lover had broke her heart, she knew she wasn't being fair but she didn't have the energy to explain herself to the brunette. She was also a little embarrassed that she had gotten herself so worked up over such nonsense. She didn't want to explain to her wife why such thoughts were brought to her forefront, she was a little humiliated to admit she even entertained the idea of Regina being Peanuts father, so much so as to actually call the tech and ask him to run the test. She had considered calling him back and telling him to forget it, it was stupid, but she hadn't. She would get the negative result in the morning and that would be the end of this entire thought process.

She called it an early night, her lower back was really bothering her and the anxiety of the day had taken its toll on the blonde, even if most of it was self-inflicted. Regina offered to come to bed with her but she smiled and encouraged the brunette to stay with their son. He needed help with a project concerning the horses and Regina had promised to help him after dinner. He had spent a big part of the summer mapping out the wooded acreage of their property in order to plot out a decent exercise trail for the ponies they had planned on getting. He had completed the map earlier that week and had been eager for the brunette's attention to help.

Emma stopped by the nursery before she headed down the hall into the main bedroom. Regina had meticulously decorated the child's room, everything had been perfect. She imagined what Henry's nursery had been like, probably very similar she thought to herself. The brunette had every detail perfected. The savior smiled to herself as she thought of how motherly her wife was. She rested her hands around the swell of her tummy and spoke to her unborn son. "You've got it made Peanut, you've got the best Mommy in all the realms." Her son shifted inside of her, which put more pressure on her back, so she decided that was her queue to go lay down.

She fell asleep quickly and slept hard. She never felt her wife snuggle up to her when she came to bed. She never roused when the alarm went off that morning, nor when she got kissed goodbye when the mayor went off to work. When she finally did wake up it was when her phone was going off, it was after 11 AM and it was the hospital calling.

"Yeah?" she said in a rough sleepy voice.

"Sheriff Mills?" The tech from yesterday asked as if he wasn't sure it was actually the blonde who had answered the phone.

"That's me." She replied after clearing her throat.

"It is Paul from data collection down at the hospital, we spoke yesterday—" he started but the blonde interrupted him, "Yeah?"

"I was able to re-examine the test samples that were provided. I re ran the test again just to be sure, because well…" she heard paperwork being shuffled around in the background and she was close to losing her patience. She was sitting straight up in bed at that point hanging on his every word. Before she lost control of her mouth and snapped at him he continued his thought. "We got a match..."

She felt like her entire world spun around at those three little words. The next thing that would come out of this man's mouth would be a definitive answer to the question that had plagued her for months.

"Mayor Mills." He said quietly. "As I said, I ran the test again against a newer sample, I thought perhaps we had cross contamination, and I had re-evaluated the previous 7 samples and none of them were even close to a match, not as close as our Mayor. I can say for certain Sheriff that this test is accurate to 99.9% that Mayor Mills is, well the other half of the DNA contribution for the Swan-Mills unborn fetus."

"Uh…" The blonde was stunned.

"Sheriff?" the man said after she hadn't said anything for over a minute.

"Uh okay. Thanks." She disconnected the phone and got up out of bed. She walked out into the hall her skin goose bumped up as the central air cooled the bare skin of her legs. Her mind was completely blank, she couldn't even put two thoughts together. She felt shock settling in her body as she walked towards the staircase that led her downstairs. She heard the TV, the noises coming from it vaguely familiar, though she couldn't quite place it. Her mind started to come back from the edge of wherever it had been and it was telling her she needed to sit down because she was in shock. She suddenly realized she was in the kitchen and had got herself a glass of water.

Henry paused his game and went into the kitchen to see his that his birth mother was awake. His adoptive mother asked him to keep an eye on the blonde that day, she of course was worried about the savior's behavior the night before. "Hey ma are you okay?" the look of worry hit across the boy's young face. His blonde mother's eyes were wide and had a vacant look about them. She was very, very pale and looked unsteady on her feet.

"Ma?" he walked over to her when she not only didn't respond to him, she hadn't even acknowledge he was speaking. She just stood there looking out the window that was above the kitchen sink and held an almost full glass of water in her hand. Her other hand gripped the side of the counter so tight her knuckles were white with effort.

He reached out and touched her and she jumped as if he had startled her. The glass fell and smashed on the ceramic tile that covered the kitchen floor. "Mom!" Henry gasped with surprise and her head whipped around to face him as if she hadn't heard him until that point. "Henry?"

"Hold still Ma." He instructed as he bent down and picked up the wet shards off of the floor. While he was kneeling next to his blonde mother he noticed liquid was streaming down her legs. He looked up at her and she had her original vacant look once more and he knew he needed help. He picked up the large shards that were noticeable and pulled out several tea towels and draped them over the tinier pieces on the floor so his mother wouldn't cut herself as she was barefoot. He wrapped her arm around him and guided her back upstairs. He was grateful she complied without complaint. He sat her down on his parent's bed and pulled out a clean pair of pajamas and instructed her to change into them. He looked around the room for his blonde mother's phone which he found on the floor next to the bed.

He snapped his fingers in front of his mother's face and she focused on him. "Are you in pain?" he asked and she shook her head no.

"Okay Mom, you're freaking me out, I think your water broke. Are you okay?" she nodded her head silently. He ran into the bathroom and got his mother a towel and helped her dry her legs then got her attention once more and asked her again to change. He turned away from her and dialed his other mother.

Emma had checked out completely, the shock of what the reality had been was setting her mind on overload and she felt like she was under water. Her movements were slow and lethargic she couldn't focus and as her logical mind came back to guide her it just made things worse because she could now realize that her body was in shock. She saw her son for the first time after coming back around standing in front of her a pair of shorts and a tee shirt in her lap and a towel on the floor at her feet. Her back ached steadily, it was much worse she noted, then it had been previously. Henry was on the phone talking to someone but she couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

"Henry?" the blonde asked.

"Mom you need to call me back!" his squeaky teenaged voice said into the phone and disconnected the call. He turned around when his mother called him, his eyes shown the fear he felt.

"Are you okay?" he asked tears threatening to fall as confusion over his mother's strange behavior and panic from his other mother's failure to answer her cellphone got the better of him.

"Yeah kid." She said with a dreamy tone.

"Can you get dressed?" he pleaded with her.

"Yeah… I—" she looked down at herself again and then back at him with a questioning look, "Why am I wet?"

"I think your water broke. Seriously are you okay? You are really scaring me!" Just as his blonde mother's eyes registered recognition the phone in his hand rang.

"MOM!" he practically shouted into the phone.

"Henry? What is it?" she said quietly. She heard the urgency in the boys voicemail and was a little annoyed he hadn't left a detailed message stating plainly what was wrong. She was in a meeting and it had been difficult to break away to call him back.

"It's Ma! You need to come home! NOW! Her water broke and there's something wrong with her!"

"Is she hurt?" She asked her son as she went back into the meeting to inform them they would need to reschedule.

"I… I don't know she's acting really weird."

"Define weird Henry!" she snapped at the boy, letting her emotions get the best of her, her worry overrode her senses.

"Space cadety" he replied.

She barked more instructions to her secretary and grabbed her purse and headed out towards the car. She couldn't just whoosh home she needed the Benz to get her family to the hospital because she couldn't drive the stick shift of her wife's bug.

"Did she hit her head or anything?" she asked as she got in and started her car. She put her son on speakerphone and asked him to put his mother on the phone.

"Yeah?" the blonde's soft voice filled the car.

"Darling are you alright?" she knew in that one little word her wife spoke she was anything but.

"Yeah." The girl answered.

"I'm on my way. Are you in pain?"

"No." the girl's haunted voice chilled and confused the queen, but she was answering the brunette's questions.

"Put Henry back on the phone."

"See?" Her son's voice replaced the vacant tone of her wife.

"You said her water broke? Was she okay before that?"

"No." He described how he found his blonde mother in the kitchen and what her condition had been.

"Alright sweetheart. Make her comfortable, I'll be home in fifteen minutes." She was suddenly cursing the fact that they lived out in the country, and then disconnected the call.

When Regina finally got home the house was silent, she called out for her son who called back to her from upstairs. She kicked off her heels and took the stairs two at a time. She burst through her bedroom door and saw her son and wife laying on the bed together. Henry was stroking his mother's hair and she had her eyes closed like she was asleep. Regina was breathless as she rushed over to her family.

"Is she okay?" she asked her teenaged son. She saw Emma's clothing was still damp so the first thing she did was magic away the dirty clothes and redress the woman in the shorts and shirt that were laying on the edge of the bed at their feet.

"She couldn't get dressed. She said her back hurts so I had her lay down so I could rub her lower back. I think she fell asleep." He explained to his adoptive mother.

"You did real good son. Real good. Okay your brother is early so I need your help okay?" she twisted her fingers anxiously around one another as she thought of what they would need at the hospital. She gave him a list as she thought of it and asked him to pack a bag for his mother. Anything else she forgot or they needed she would just summon or purchase.

"I also need you to call your Gran and tell her to meet us at the hospital. It could take a really, really long time for your brother to get here, so pack yourself a bag with stuff to do and maybe a change of clothes to stay over at the Charmings house."

Once the boy ran off to do as she had asked she sat down next to her savior. The girl was laying on her side, one of her arms tucked up under her head, the other draped over her swollen belly. Her face was as peaceful as it had been that morning when she whispered her I love you's to both her savior and unborn son. She almost didn't want to wake the girl she looked so at ease.


	34. Chapter 34

How one second can change so drastically to the next. A contraction ripped through the savior and she was suddenly wide awake, completely present and in desperate pain. Her wife held her as she bolted straight up from the bed. "Emma!" Regina gasped as the blonde had startled her.

"It's too soon!" Emma groaned out through her clenched jaw.

"Evidently not. Your son has decided today was the day." Regina flinched as Emma's strong hand gripped her knee. "Darling, you need to breathe."

"Don't tell me to breathe! I AM breathing!" the blonde barked at her.

"Let's get you in the car shall we?" Regina said sweetly through her placating mayor smile. Her wife started to whine as the contraction subsided. Regina put one of Emma's arms around her shoulder and helped her out of the bedroom.

"I forgot how much this part sucks." She pouted as she let the brunette help her down the stairs. Their son met them out at the car, he was loading up the bags he packed into the truck of the Mercedes.

"You are fantastic my dear son!" the brunette praised her boy. "Were you able to find everything?" she asked as she helped the savior into the passenger's side of the car.

"Yup. I got Ma a bottled water too, I think she was thirsty before." He said handing his adoptive mother the bottle then got into the back of the car. Regina got in herself and handed the bottle to the blonde who looked exhausted already. "Ready?" she asked everyone as she pulled out of their driveway and headed back into town.

Snow and David beat the Mills Family to the hospital of course and Snow had a wheelchair at the ready with an orderly waiting for when the Benz pulled up. Regina tossed Charming the keys to her car and told her son to grab the bags as she helped her wife into the chair. Emma had another contraction during the ride in and now that they had arrived at the hospital her third contraction started as she was getting out of the car. Regina had her watch and was timing the length as she rubbed the savior's back. Henry had written down the times she relayed to him in the car on the way down, and now again as she timed out this contraction.

Once she helped the blonde into the wheelchair she let Snow push her daughter into the hospital. Regina barked orders as they entered and the staff buzzed around and got them up to a private room. Regina was relaying medical information to one of the nurses when Emma started another contraction. She called out the time for her son who dutifully wrote down the numbers. Snow was next to the bed holding her daughter's hand, Emma was squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. "I changed my mind! I don't want to do this!" she cried out as the contraction left her body.

"They are getting closer together Mom." He said to his brunette mother. "Seven minutes."

Snow looked worried, "Didn't she just start? That is too close isn't it?"

"Henry would you mind taking Gran down to get your mother a light lunch, a bagel would be good, cream cheese the way she likes it." Regina instructed her son and guided her mother in law into his calm hands reassuring the woman as she walked away that everything was going to be fine. Once they were gone she turned to the blonde who was laying back on the bed turned to her side. She walked around and pushed the blonde mess out of her face. "Hey." She said quietly. "Are you okay?" Emma shook her head with a pout, she looked like she was going to cry. "Are you in pain?" Emma shook her head again. "Okay tell me." She said softly.

"I think I need to use the restroom." The blonde said quietly. Regina helped her use the facilities and when they got back a young doctor was waiting for them looking over the chart that had been outside the door.

"Hi there!" he said cheerfully, "I'm doctor—"

"Where is Whale?" Regina interrupted him, her voice carried the annoyance she felt.

"He isn't in today." The man said with a worried look on his face.

Regina recognized the man from somewhere, but couldn't quite place him. She narrowed her eyes, studying him with scrutiny as she helped the savior back into bed.

"Mrs. Mills, may I check how far along we are?" he directed his question to the blonde as the look on the queen's face frightened him. Emma nodded her head slowly, giving the man permission. They had changed the savior into a hospital issued gown while they were in the lavatory so once she got back up on the bed she pulled her knees up to give him access. Regina questioned the man further about Whales presence and Emma whined, "I don't want our baby to be delivered by doctor Frankenstein babe!"

"Yes but darling—" Regina got out before Emma started another contraction. Regina gripped the blonde's hand and timed the contraction. The doctor had finished his exam and was writing notes on the chart as he turned to leave.

"Get back here!" Regina barked at the man. Snow and Henry returned and Regina relayed the times for her son to write down, she turned to her wife, "Please eat a little something my knight. You can do this but you need your strength." She kissed the girl on her head and left her in her mother's hands as she went to discuss their birth plan with the new doctor.

She pulled the doctor out into the hall and took a deep breath before speaking. "Listen, what was your name?"

"Well, Doctor Stevens, but I was called Vladimir in our world." He said keeping his eyes lowered from the gaze of his queen.

"Vlad?!" Regina's recognition snapped into place and she took an exasperated sigh. Great, her child would be delivered by one of the queen's guardsmen. He was the head of the queen's second guard, but a guard none the less. She put her fingers up to her temple and thought to herself, 'At least he is trustworthy.' She shook her head and asked how long he had been practicing medicine for.

"The entire curse your Grace."

"You are versed as an Obstetrician?"

"Yes your Grace."

"How far is Emma dilated?"

"She is quite close your Grace, 7 centimeters."

"As you know this is her second birth, her water broke a little over an hour ago and her contractions are getting closer and more painful. Our birth plan includes no medications, and she does not wish to have an episiotomy. We would prefer to avoid an assisted delivery if at all possible and she would prefer to hold her son skin to skin post-delivery. I wish to cut the cord and we would like to delay the cutting. Any questions?" she watched as Doctor Stevens took notes on her birth plan.

"Will you be banking his cord blood your Grace?" he asked as he filled in the last of her instructions on the chart.

"Yes Doctor, we have arranged the collection, but she is 10 days early from her due date, is that going to be a problem?"

"No, your grace, I'll have one of the nurse's call down to cold storage and send up someone to collect it immediately." He said as he jotted down more notes.

"Thank you Vlad. I am confident my family is in good hands." She praised as she turned away from the young doctor.

"Thank you, your majesty!" the doctor beamed and turned away to relay instructions to his support staff.

Regina returned to the room and took up her place at Emma's side. Emma had her back turned to Regina and was facing her mother who was stroking her hair. Regina set Snow at ease explaining how because this was her second child the process could, and seemed to be, much quicker than someone who had never given birth before.

"But Regina she is so early!" Snow questioned. Regina was rubbing Emma's back and shot the young brunette a warning look before answering her.

"We were uncertain of the date of conception, and besides she is within the window of what is perfectly acceptable."

"Will you two please stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Emma groaned. "It's annoying!" she pushed her head deeper into the pillow. She slid herself back closer towards Regina and pulled her legs up as close as she could. "Babe can you lay with me? I'm cold." She whined.

A light knock at the door prompted Henry to jump up to answer it. David poked his blonde head inside with a proud wide smile across his face. "How are we doing?" he asked.

Regina pulled an extra blanket down out of the closet and wrapped her wife up. "I'm going to change and then we can cuddle if you'd like, okay?" she kissed the savior's blonde crown and then picked through the bags Henry brought in.

Snow greeted her husband and started to relay the information she knew as he bent down and kissed his daughter.

Regina left the Charming's and went into the bathroom to change out of her work clothes. Henry had brought her a nice loose fitting top, leggings and a pair of Emma's sneakers she had been known to 'borrow' on occasion. The low top converse were comfortable and would be perfect for kicking around the hospital in. She opted not to wear them just yet as she intended to lay on the bed next to her wife as Emma had wanted. She heard Emma let out a scream and she quickly dropped what she was doing and dashed back into the room looking at her watch.

"It feels like I should be pushing!" the blonde was crying and tossing and turning on the bed. She was kicking her feet and pushing the blankets off of her as she was calling for Regina.

"I'm here darling, I know it feels like you need to push, but don't, not yet." Regina tried to pull the blankets back up over her wife and Emma whined, "No! I'm hot!"

"Okay breathe baby. It won't be long now okay?" she stroked the blonde's head as she relayed more times to her son. She looked up at Snow and asked her to go get someone and tell them she feels like pushing.

She then asked David to take Henry out into the waiting room. She knew it wouldn't be much longer before the second part of labor would start and knew the men would be happy to be out of the room when that started. Snow returned with a nurse who set up an external fetal monitor on Emma. Regina asked Snow to join David and Henry out in the waiting room. Snow bent down and kissed her daughter on the head. "I'm so proud of you. You're doing so well sweetheart. I'll see you soon."

"Thanks mom." Emma mumbled.

Regina waited for Snow to leave the room before she turned her attention to Emma. She poured her a glass of ice water and coaxed her to take small sips.

"So what happened this morning?" Regina asked after a few moments of soothing touches and loving kisses. Emma wasn't space cadety as her son had put it, but she wasn't exactly herself either and Regina was way more than concerned.

"Do we need to talk about it right now?" Emma whined.

"Of course not dear, I just figured I had you a captive audience and you gave our son quite a fright." Regina said still stroking the girl's hair. "Would you like anything else to eat?" Emma shook her head and continued to stare off away from Regina.

"I won't push, but I am concerned." Regina tried once more to get the girl to talk. They were interrupted by another long contraction. The next 20 minutes Emma had barely a few minutes break between contractions. The nurse returned and checked the fetal monitor. Without a word she rushed out of the room.

Emma looked tired and Regina did her best to coach her through the contractions. The nurse returned with Doctor Stevens and he asked to do an exam.

"Is everything okay?" Regina asked Vlad. The worry in her face was completely unmasked. The man who had once served as her protector smiled and nodded. "We are ready to start pushing."

"Oh thank god!" Emma exclaimed and Regina laughed. "No really I'm ready to get this kid out of me."

"I'm sure you are dear." Regina said as she helped Emma into a comfortable sitting position.

Over all it had been almost three hours since her water had broken, it took an additional half hour of pushing before their son was born into the world healthy and screaming. As he was born Emma felt a wave settle over the world briefly before her attention was taken by her son who was placed on her chest. "Hey Peanut!" the blonde exclaimed as she kissed his dark head.

Regina looked at her wife with amazement and reverence as she watched the woman she loved bring their son into the world, words could not describe how happy she felt at that moment. She counted his little fingers and his little toes as he settled down into his mother's breast. He had a thick wild mop of jet black hair and he was absolutely perfect. She wept openly as her emotions got the best of her.

As per the queen's instruction, the hospital staff followed the Mills' birth plan. Regina cut the umbilical cord and a woman was brought in to collect the cord blood for storage. The infant was taken to be cleaned up and Regina used her magic to do the same for Emma at her request.

"Thanks babe." She said as she reached out for the brunette. Emma had started to feel a little more in control of herself when they first arrived at the hospital. She attributed the clarity due to the contractions, which she surmised, had ripped her out of the shock she had succumbed to earlier that morning. She thought as she laid waiting for her son to be born that maybe Paul the tech guy had been mistaken, that perhaps the sample they took from the infant had been corrupted somehow, that there was no way Regina had familial markers to the child. That was until he was born. She felt the disturbance in "the force" just as she had when the new dwarves had been born a year prior. There was no doubt in her mind their son had been a product of their true love.

A nurse brought the infant wrapped up in a blanket, he was crying and fussing trying to get out of his confines. As soon as Regina took possession of the child he settled down in her arms. "Oh gods Emma he is so light!" the woman exclaimed as she looked up at her wife with watery eyes. "He is perfect." She said as she knit her brow together and pursed her lips up trying to hold back her emotions from getting away from her.

Emma nodded her head and watched her wife bounce their son lightly in her arms. The brunette kissed him gingerly on the forehead and then passed him over to his mother. "Let's go say hi to Mumma Peanut." The brunette cooed to the boy. Emma took him and looked down at him with wonder as he yawned and opened his dark eyes and looked up at her. She laughed at how ridiculously cute he was and then with her free hand pulled her wife up onto the bed with her. Regina wrapped her arm around her wife and kissed her temple. "I'm so proud of you. Tell me when you'd like for me to go get our son and the Charmings."

"Not yet." Emma was still looking down at the marvel in her arms. She looked up at her wife and decided now was when she would tell her. "He's yours Regina."

"He's ours." Regina corrected still smiling down at the baby. She had one arm wrapped around Emma holding her, the other stroking the infant's leg through the blanket.

"No. He is yours." Emma repeated and Regina sat back and looked at her wife curiously.

"Of course he is mine." She shook her head slightly not understanding what the blonde was saying.

"I mean you are his… I don't know… father." Emma said looking up at the brunette expectantly.

"Emma, I'm his mother, we don't need to hetero normalize my relationship with our children, it isn't healthy."

"Hetero what?" Emma asked confused but then waved off the question as it really didn't matter to the point she was trying to get across. "Never mind, no Regina I mean I got the test results back this morning from the retest, and they found a match."

"Who is it?" she demanded a little upset they were discussing this right now, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know but it had been important to the blonde so she had gone along with it.

"It was none of them," Regina looked disbelieving. "Yesterday I called the lab back after you went back to work, and pulled your DNA and had the tech run yours against Peanuts markers and it came back positive. You are his… Mother."

"What? No. The sample must be corrupted. Now that he's been born we can run proper blood tests—" Regina stopped as Emma shook her head. "Babe, look at him. He is yours. I felt a disturbance when he was born. He is a product of our true love." Regina sat back and looked at the savior with disbelief, not wanting that tiny shard of hope to gain root in her heart. She looked back at the baby suspiciously then back to her wife. "Well how the hell did that happen?" she said finally.

"I don't know, but ever since I saw your name on the list of people it COULD be, somewhere deep down inside, I knew it was you." Regina stood to put some distance between herself and the hope she was trying not to let in. "That isn't possible Emma, you do know how babies are made right? I'm missing a vital ingredient."

The baby started to fuss and Regina instantly returned to their side and he calmed immediately. She placed her hand over his head and stroked his soft mop of black hair.

"Remember the night Henry and I came back from New York?" Emma started, looking up at the brunette who was watching their son with wonder. Regina nodded slowly then dark onyx eyes met understanding as they snapped up to meet Emma's gaze. "No…" Regina whispered.

"I had to have been already pregnant at that point, who knows who jump started the process, all I know for sure is, this baby is OURS, in every sense of the term." Emma said with certainty. Regina studied the blonde's green eyes looking for any flicker of doubt, she found none. "Oh my gods." Regina finally whispered. She looked back down at the baby, their son, her son and whispered, "Mine."

"Are you okay?" Emma asked a little nervous, her own reaction to the news had been fairly extreme, and although Regina was, in her opinion, much stronger than herself, she still worried about her reaction.

"I'm great!" the brunette smiled wide and leaned in and kissed her wife on the mouth. All of the love she felt for this amazing woman poured into it and left her light headed after Emma's smile broke the embrace.

"Yes you are!" Emma said with a sexy rumble in her voice. "I love you, Regina."

"I love you, Emma."

A knock on the door brought the women out of their proclamations of love and Regina called to whomever it was to enter. Henry poked his head in, "We got tired of waiting. The nurse came out forever ago and said he was here."

Emma laughed at her son's eagerness. "I see where your little brother gets his impatience from! Come on in, is Gran and Gramps with you?"

Henry pushed into the room both Snow and David in tow, "Of course!" her mother exclaimed then gasped at the first sight of her second grandson. "Oh Emma he is beautiful!" the pixie haired brunette hugged into her husband as Emma passed the infant over to Henry.

"Wow he is so light!" Henry exclaimed. "Hey Peanut, I'm your big brother!"

David cleared his throat and congratulated the women on their new arrival. "So are you guys just going to continue to call him Peanut or does he have an actual name?"

Both Regina and Emma laughed but Regina answered her father in law, "He has an actual name, but we will probably call him Peanut for a while yet."

"Well?" Snow asked expectantly.

"It seems I know exactly where my children get their impatience gene from." Regina snarked with a chuckle. "His name is Michael David Mills."

"Oh that is beautiful sweetheart!" Snow exclaimed as she rubbed her husband's chest. The man's breath had caught in his throat when he heard his new grandson's name and he had yet to release it for fear he would lose his composure. All he could do was nod and wipe away the few tears he felt fall over his cheeks. After several moments and once the lump in his throat settled he made his way around to the side of the bed and wrapped his arms around his daughter. "Thank you." He whispered.

"I love you daddy." Emma whispered back to him and he cried joyfully in her arms.

"Henry you're hogging your brother, let Mikey meet his Gran and you come here." Emma said holding out her arms to her eldest son. He passed the infant off to his grandmother then replaced David's spot in his mother's arms. She messed up his hair and kissed him on the head. "I'm sorry I scared you earlier, we'll have a talk about what happened later okay?" she whispered into his ear.

Mary Margaret gently bounced her new grandson as she cooed over him. "Just look at that hair Mikey! You look just like your Gran, don't you?" the pixie haired woman sing-songed. Regina silently scowled for a moment before Emma rested her hand on her wife's knee and shook her head with a smile and silently rolled her eyes at her wife, calming the brunette's jealous nature down.

Regina stood in her newly born infant son's bedroom and watched him sleep. She silently thanked whatever powers that be that her children were both happy and healthy and that the woman who gave her those children was safe. Emma entered the room and slid her hands around her wife kissing her on the neck. "He is sleeping, we should probably do the same while we can." She whispered.

"He is just so beautiful. He reminds me so much of Henry." The brunette's deep voice rumbled with emotion. She turned to face the woman who had brought her so much happiness, she steadied herself and her tone grew serious as she spoke from the heart. "You are the best thing that has come into my life."

Emma booped her on the nose gently before pulling her queen into a protective hug. "I love you, Regina."


End file.
